Judge rejects Roy Moore's attempts to stop Alabama election certification
An Alabama judge has rejected Roy Moore's attempt to stop the state from making his defeat official in Alabama's special Senate election.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick on Thursday denied Moore's attempt to delay the certification of votes while Moore's claims of voting irregularities are investigated. Democrat Doug Jones is expected to be certified as the winner Thursday afternoon.
Moore had filed a lawsuit late Wednesday night in an 11th-hour attempt to stop Alabama from certifying Jones as the winner.
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.
According to a release from the campaign, "The purpose of the complaint is to preserve evidence of potential election fraud and to postpone the certification of Alabama's Special Election by Secretary of State John Merrill until a thorough investigation of potential election fraud, that improperly altered the outcome of this election, is conducted."
Alabama election officials argue however, that they found no evidence of fraud.
The complaint also included an affidavit from Judge Roy Moore stating that he successfully completed a polygraph test confirming the representations of misconduct made against him during the campaign are completely false.
Regardless of the filing, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill told The Associated Press Wednesday evening that he had no intention of delaying the canvassing board meeting.
Jones will now become the first Democrat elected to the Senate in a quarter century in Alabama. Jones defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes.
