Roy Moore claims fraud in suit over election results

UPDATE: Alabama officials on Thursday denied a legal challenge from Republican Roy Moore and certified Democrat Doug Jones the winner of the Dec. 12 special election to fill one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. Late Wednesday night, Moore filed a lawsuit to delay the certification, citing voter fraud. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Johnny Hardwick dismissed Moore’s complaint minutes before state officials certified the election. The final tally showed Jones received 21,924 more votes than Moore, with about 1.3 million ballots cast. “I am looking forward to going to work for the people of Alabama in the new year,” Jones said in a statement.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (9:52 a.m.): Alabama Republican Roy Moore filed a lawsuit Wednesday to delay certification of this month’s U.S. Senate race and requested an investigation into voter fraud. Moore lost to Democrat Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 special election by about 20,000 votes. He was the first Republican to lose a U.S. Senate Race in Alabama in 25 years. Moore has yet to concede defeat. “This is not a Republican or Democrat issue as election integrity should matter to everyone,” Moore said in a statement. Alabama’s state canvassing board plans to meet Thursday afternoon to certify the election results and declare Jones the winner. Moore urged his supporters to contact Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill and ask him to delay the meeting to preserve the evidence of voter fraud. Merrill has so far refused to change the schedule. “It is not going to delay certification and Doug Jones will be certified [Thursday] at 1 p.m. and he will be sworn in by Vice President Pence on the third of January,” Merrill told the Associated Press. Moore’s complaint lists testimony from “three independent election experts” who agree fraud took place. Many Republican leaders have asked Moore to concede defeat, including President Donald Trump, who endorsed Moore in early December.