'It's about being aligned with the Democratic Party': Judge sides with SCDP over Alan Ali

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A judge has sided with the South Carolina Democratic Party in its decision not to certify Alan Ali.

Ali filed a lawsuit against the party after they removed him from the primary ballot for Charleston County Sheriff earlier this month.

The Democratic Party says they are happy with the judge’s ruling; However, Ali says he is disappointed.

He says not allowing him on the ballot as a Democratic candidate violates his constitutional right to due process and equal protection.

READ MORE: "Judge rules in favor of Democratic Party over Charleston Co. Sheriff candidate Alan Ali."

"Mr. Ali has every right to run for sheriff in the general election," Party Chair Christale Spain said.

But not as a Democrat.

"It's just not our party's responsibility to give a republican or a member of any other political party access to the democratic party's primary ballot," Spain said.

That's because the South Carolina Democratic Party decided Alan Ali is not a Democrat and therefore does not share the party’s values.

"If you're trying to access a party's primary ballot, then you should be affiliated with that party," Spain said.

READ MORE: "First court appearance for SCDP and Alan Ali's team since he announced he filed a lawsuit."

News 4 asked Spain to clarify what those values are.

"They are public education number one. Our party's values around guns, we believe in common sense gun reform... A woman's right to choose, especially in this climate, where abortion and women's reproductive freedoms are under attack," Spain said.

When News 4 asked Spain to clarify what values specifically pertain to the role of Sheriff, she replied, "It's about being aligned with the Democratic Party, and in this specific case, Mr. Ali is not a Democrat. And as I've said before, it's not the Democratic Party's responsibility to allow every candidate including Republicans access to our primary ballot."

Ali considered running as a Republican in the Dorchester County Sheriff’s race but decided to run as a Democrat in Charleston County.

READ MORE: "Lt. Ali sues South Carolina Democratic Party; the politics of Charleston's sheriff race."

Spain says they must ensure their candidates are actually Democrats to not confuse voters.

"You can't try to mislead primary voters, in our case Democratic Primary voters, for your own political purposes," Spain said.

In response, Ali filed a lawsuit and presented evidence in court showing the Democratic Party had recently certified candidates who previously ran as Republicans.

The judge ruled in favor of the party.

READ MORE: "Lt. Alan Ali removed from the Charleston County Sheriff Ballot by Democratic Party."

Ali responded in a statement saying, “I am disappointed with today’s decision that says the democratic party can do whatever they want, whenever they want, to protect party incumbents and prevent the voters from having a choice at the ballot. I have no problem with the party having their own rules, but they should be required to apply them equally to everyone. That is what the law requires and what our citizens demand. The fight to give voters the ability to choose their next sheriff is not over. I believe in our constitution, and I’m not lying down.”

Ali’s Attorney Mark Peper says if they were to file an appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, it would have to be briefed argued, and ruled upon in the next 48 hours to avoid postponing the primary on June 11.

News 4 asked Ali if he was going to continue the legal fight, but he would not clarify if he was filing an appeal. However, he reiterated he was not lying down.