Republican Roy Moore filed a lawsuit late Wednesday to delay certification of the Alabama special election results until a “thorough” investigation of “potential election fraud” is conducted.
“Three national Election Integrity experts reached the same independent conclusion: ‘with a reasonable degree of statistical and mathematical certainty…election fraud occurred,” the court filing shared on Moore’s campaign Facebook page alleges.
The election complaint comes just hours before a state canvassing board meets to officially declare Democrat Doug Jones as the winner of the Dec. 12 special election.
“This is not a Republican or Democrat issue as election integrity should matter to everyone,” Moore wrote, calling on Secretary of State John Merrill to delay certification.
Merrill told The Associated Press Wednesday that he has no intention of delaying the board meeting.
“It is not going to delay certification and Doug Jones will be certified Thursday at 1 p.m.” Merrill said.
Despite complaints of voter fraud and irregularities, Merrill said he has not found evidence of either, but will investigate any complaints Moore submits.
Jones defeated Moore by a 49.9-48.4 margin, a difference of less than 21,000 votes. It’s the first time a Democrat has won a Senate seat in Alabama in 25 years.
“This desperate attempt by Roy Moore to subvert the will of the people will not succeed,” Sam Coleman, a spokesperson for Jones, told ABC News. “The election is over, it’s time to move on.”
Jones, a former Democratic U.S. attorney, will be sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 3.
Moore has not yet conceded the race to Jones.
