South Carolina Democrat Party Refusing to Allow Black Candidate for Sheriff to Appear on Ballot

The South Carolina Democrat Party is refusing to allow a black candidate running for sheriff in Charleston County to appear on the ballot.

South Carolina Democrat Party (SCDP) Chair Christale Spain argued in a letter from March 5 to the Director of the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections that she would not be certifying Alan Ali, an African American and former patrol lieutenant with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, to appear on the ballot as a candidate for sheriff, according to WCBD News 2.

“I am not certifying Alan Ali for the ballot for the primary election on June 11, 2024, pursuant to South Carolina Democratic Party Rule 11,” Spain wrote in her statement, noting that the candidates “support and allegiance to the Democratic Party and the Party’s values” were in question.

Rule 11 of the South Carolina Democratic Party states that “the South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman in consultation with the SCDP Executive Council reserves the right not to certify a candidate who has filed for a Democratic Party primary election” and is either currently serving or has served “as an officer or official in another political party.” The SCDP chairman also reserves the right to not certify a candidate who has “demonstrated intent to mislead voters and party officials regarding that candidate’s support and allegiance to the Democratic Party and the Party’s values.”

Under South Carolina law, candidates running for office must also reside in the district in which they are running for office. Candidates running for sheriff in South Carolina must also be a resident in the county they are running for office in for at least a year, according to South Carolina law. Ali reportedly registered to vote in Charleston County in Oct. 20, 2023.

“Mr. Ali made it clear during the meeting last week that he explored running for sheriff as a Republican in Dorchester County where he owns his residence so that was a huge flag for me,” Spain said in a statement. “It said to me that Mr. Ali was party shopping.”

Ali, the son of parents who were originally from the Caribbean Island of Montserrat, announced in Dec. 2023 that he would be throwing his hat into the race for Charleston County Sheriff. Along with being a former patrol lieutenant, Ali has more than thirty years of experience serving in law enforcement, first joining the Dallas Police Department in 1991, according to his website.

In 1997, after moving to Charleston, Ali joined the City of Charleston Police Department. A year later, he went on to join the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, where he served on a uniformed patrol division team and was later a member of the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team.

“I think it’s hearing the personal stories of people in and around the community, in Edisto Island and McClellanville and around Hollywood, and just hearing these personal stories over and over again, that people are looking for fundamental change,” Ali said in a statement at the time.

Ali is running against incumbent Sheriff Kristin Graziano, who was elected as Charleston County Sheriff in Nov. 2020. Graziano is reportedly the first woman and openly LGBTQ person to be elected to a sheriff’s position in South Carolina.