Roy Moore Not Admitting That He Lost
Roy Moore refuses to concede the election for the Alabama senate seat that took place on December 12. Moore has said that he will accept the results when the ballots are certified. On December 12, the majority of the voters chose to elect Doug Jones, who represents the Democratic Party, over Moore, who was the Republican nominee.
Is Moore being a sore loser after his defeat? Why does it matter if Moore concedes the election results? Let’s take a look into the details.
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The Results
The election that took place on December 12 was a special election to fill the vacant senate seat of Jeff Sessions. This election was followed in the news by the whole country, because Republicans have held this position for the last 25 years, and because of allegations against Moore. The focus on this election race included President Donald Trump speaking highly of Moore in a effort to get voters to stay Republican.
In the end, once the ballots were collected, more voters picked Democratic Party representative Doug Jones to be the next senator for Alabama. Jones collected 49.9% of the votes and Moore received 48.3%. This also resulted in a smaller gap between the parties in the U.S. Senate, with Republicans now having 51 seats, compared to 49 for the Democrats. (Source: “Alabama Senate race: Doug Jones wins, but Roy Moore isn’t Conceding,” CBS News, December 13, 2017.)
Roy Moore Not Defeated
Even though the numbers from the election are in, Moore is not planning to give up quite yet. Even once it was determined that Moore lost the election, he said he was not conceding. This simply means that the election is not over, and that Moore wants there to be a recount.
If there happened to be only half of a percentage point difference between Jones and Moore, there would have a been an automatic recount. This is a rule that Alabama has as a state. Since there was a percentage difference of 1.6%, Moore must pay for a recount himself. Then, if Moore does decide for a recount, he will take those results as the official ones.
Moore said he will also concede the election if the results are certified, which cannot be done before December 26, and no later than January 3. The results are “unoffical” until they are certified.
Moore is taking this route because he believes that there is a fighting chance of things turning around in his favor. Even if there is a recount, things may remain the same, with Jones being the senator for Alabama. If the race was a lot closer, there could have been a chance for Moore. This would be because vote counting errors are made at times.
Why Does It Matter If a One-Time Candidate Concedes?
The purpose of conceding is to accept defeat and congratulate the winner of the election with dignity. The losing candidate concedes in a speech and it serves as more than just saying congratulations to the winner. It gives the losing candidate one last time to offer his or her main platform visions to the public. Also, it officially closes the books on the election and gives a place in history to the losing candidate. Lastly, it will encourage voters and elected officials to work as one, going forward for the better of the country.
In this case, Doug Jones will see Moore as a distraction for not conceding the election. It seems that things are left up in the air and not official.
Conclusion: What Is Next for Roy Moore?
Roy Moore is holding onto hope that there will be change in the outcome of the election. It does not seem that things will change enough for Moore to be announced as the next senator for Alabama.
The route being taking by Moore shows that, in his mind, he should have won, and that he is bitter toward Jones. Since Moore said he will not concede until the results are certified, there could be a press conference held once the results are official. Until then, Moore and his campaign could remain quiet.
