REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Roy Moore speaks to supporters on election night.
- Republican Roy Moore has refused to concede the Alabama Senate race despite results showing a clear margin of victory for Democrat Doug Jones.
- Moore is holding out hope for a recount, which could take place in early January after all the votes have been certified.
- Here's how the certification and recount process could play out.
Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore refused to concede the race to Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday, despite preliminary results that show Jones leading by more than 21,000 votes.
The 1.5% margin is narrow, but Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill says it is likely to be wide enough to ensure Jones' victory even as votes remain to be counted.
"I know a lot of people would say it's never over until it's over, but the margin of victory for Doug Jones at this particular time looks like a very difficult amount of votes to overcome as the remaining votes that are out there to be counted next week begin to be considered at the local level," Merrill told CNN on Wednesday.
But Moore is not giving up hope.
"Realize when the vote is this close, it's not over," Moore told supporters in a post-election speech. "And we still got to go by the rules about this recount provision. ... It's not over and it's going to take some time."
What happens next
Over the coming days, each of Alabama's 67 counties will begin to process all of the remaining write-in votes and provisional and military ballots from overseas.
Counties must report those votes to the Secretary of State's office by December 22. Then, at some point between December 26 and January 3, all votes will go through a certification process.
Only after the certification process will a recount be possible. At that point, if the margin of victory is less than 0.5%, an automatic recount provision will kick in, which the state government would pay for.
If the margin of victory is greater than 0.5%, either one of the candidates or anyone with standing in Alabama can request a recount, which they would have to fund themselves.
Although Moore has not definitively called for a recount, he has suggested that it remains a viable option. Either way, he would not be able to do so until after certification in early January.
Doug Jones at his election watch party Birmingham, Alabama on December 12, 2017.
Some have already criticized Moore's delayed concession, including a few Republican allies.
"Roy Moore won't concede; says will wait on God to speak," former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee tweeted Wednesday morning. "God wasn't registered to vote in AL but the ppl who voted did speak and it wasn't close enough for recount. In elections everyone does NOT get a trophy. I know first hand but it's best to exit with class."
Tuesday's special election, held to replace Jeff Sessions who vacated his Senate seat to become Attorney General, was one of the most scandal-plagued political contests in recent memory. Moore spent much of the campaign's final weeks fighting off several accusations of sexual misconduct with teenagers when he was in his 30s.
Assuming the election night results hold true, Jones, a former prosecutor, will be the first Democrat to hold an Alabama Senate seat since 1992.