Roy Moore sues to try to stop Alabama from naming Doug Jones winner of U.S. Senate seat
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Roy Moore is going to court to try to stop Alabama from certifying Democrat Doug Jones as the winner of the U.S. Senate race.
Moore filed a lawsuit Wednesday evening in Montgomery Circuit Court. The filing occurred about 14 hours ahead of Thursday's meeting of a state canvassing board to officially declare Jones the winner of the Dec. 12 special election.
Jones defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes.
Moore's attorney wrote in the lawsuit that he believed there were irregularities and said there should be a fraud investigation and eventually a new election.
"This is not a Republican or Democrat issue as election integrity should matter to everyone," Moore said in a statement released Wednesday announcing the complaint.
Moore hasn't conceded the race, CBS Birmingham affiliate WIAT-TV points out, adding that he has said he wants to wait until military and provisional ballots are counted. Even President Trump, who supported Moore, has said Moore should concede.
Moore has sent several fundraising emails to supporters asking for donations to investigate claims of voter fraud.
Aabama Secretary of State John Merrill told The Associated Press Wednesday evening that he has no intention of delaying the canvassing board meeting.
"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 said.
In the complaint, Moore's attorneys noted the higher than expected turnout in the race, particularly in Jefferson County, and said Moore's numbers were suspiciously low in about 20 Jefferson County precincts.
Merrill said he hasn't found evidence so far of voter fraud, but that his office will investigate any complaint Moore submits.
Jones and Moore were competing to fill the U.S. Senate seat that previously belonged to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Moore's campaign was wounded by accusations against Moore of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls decades ago.
The campaign says the suit includes an affidavit from Moore "stating that he successfully completed a polygraph test confirming the representations of misconduct made against him during the campaign are completely false."