The credentials committee of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday ordered new elections for the chair and vice-chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, after complaints about the process used in the August election.

The new elections must take place within 90 days, and under DNC supervision. The DNC has also ordered a review of party bylaws, which could lead to changes to how members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC), which selects party leaders, are chosen.

"I look forward to doing it again, laying all these questions to rest," said Nancy Worley, the chairwoman of the Alabama Democratic Party.

Richard Rouco, an attorney representing plaintiffs in the case, said Thursday the decision was a "good result" for the party.

"Even though these kinds of internal disputes are never pleasant, I think unfortunately in this case it was necessary," he said. "As the credential committee members observed, there were just several irregularities with the voting process."

The decision must be approved by the full Democratic National Committee. Rouco said Thursday he epects that decision to come in the next few days.

Worley and Rouco said the questions had to do with whether some members of the SDEC who voted in the Aug. 11 election had the proper credentials. In a Facebook stream of the credentials committee meeting, DNC officials also questioned whether Alabama Democratic Party bylaws provided for representation for minority groups like Hispanics, Asians and members of the LGBTQ community.

Worley and Joe Reed, vice-chair of the state party's minority committee and a longtime power in the state party, have come under criticism from within the party from members who say their leadership has helped push the Democratic Party, once the dominant party in the state, into near-irrelevance at the state level.

The SDEC on Aug. 11 re-elected Nancy Worley and Randy Kelley as chair and vice-chair of the party, turning back a challenge led by Democratic Sen. Doug Jones. Critics accused Worley's supporters, including Reed, of improperly holding the election. In particular, critics honed in parts of the bylaws that effectively allowed Reed to choose a slate of electors pledged to his preferred candidates, without oversight.

"I’m so glad a spotlight has been shone on improprieties that have gone on," said Sheila Gilbert, a founder of the Alabama Democratic Reform Caucus (ADRC), which has pushed for changes in the party leadership.

Activists have complained the party leadership was virtually silent as leadership scandals sunk House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn and Republican Gov. Robert Bentley in 2016 and 2017. Jones and other Democratic candidates have also criticized the party for failing to provide support to candidates and forcing cash-strapped campaigns to build their own infrastructure.

More:Alabama Democratic Party sat on cash as Election Day approached

Worley, who has been the chair of the party since 2013, and Reed argue the party is trying to get out from under debts and has few resources to spare.

Jones appeared at the Aug. 11 election and urged members to vote for Peck Fox, a longtime Democratic activist. He said a vote for Worley would mean "we will keep the status quo, which is one Democrat elected statewide."

Worley defeated Fox after an election in which members of the SDEC stood to indicate their preferences. Her allies were also elected.

Under current Alabama Democratic Party bylaws, the party's vice-chair for Minority Affairs can add a certain number of delegates to the SDEC to reflect the presence of minority voters in the Democratic electorate. The complaint alleged that Reed, the current vice-chair, selected 35 new SDEC members at an offsite meeting; that neither he nor the party gave an adequate explanation as to how they were selected and that Reed was essentially allowed to make the determination on his own.

The complaint also alleged the vote totals overestimated the number of SDEC members present, and said that members of the SDEC did not receive adequate notification beforehand.

In a livestream of the credentials committee meeting posted on the ADRC's Facebook page, members of the DNC's credentials committee expressed concerns that the Alabama party bylaws did not appear to address minority groups like Hispanics, Asians and LGBTQ individuals. Worley said Thursday the DNC "wanted that definition expanded."

A DNC official told the Advertiser on Thursday that a representative would be onsite to monitor the election. He also said the DNC would work to ensure proper notification of the next gathering.

Worley said she was not certain exactly when the next election would take place, or if it would follow a format similar to the August election.

"I think we will have another meeting where that can be clearly established," she said.

Rouco said his clients "wanted to see this through."

"Everybody's objective here is to make the party stronger," he said. "We right now don’t have a particularly strong party."