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Roy Moore not conceding US Senate race, hints at recount

Roy Moore not conceding US Senate race, hints at recount
Posted at 10:47 PM, Dec 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-12 23:47:45-05

Republican Roy Moore told supporters that Tuesday's election "is not over" and that “we do not have a final outcome tonight" as the unofficial vote tally closed for the US Senate race in Alabama late Tuesday night. 

Moore, the embattled Republican who has faced sexual misconduct allegations during the campaign, hinted that Tuesday's election could head for a recount. 

CNN, the Associated Press, and other major media outlets project that Democrat Doug Jones will win the election.

In order for Tuesday's election to go to an automatic recount, the margin of victory has to be within .5 of a percent. According to the final unofficial results on Tuesday, Jones won by a 1.5 percent margin. 

According to Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, in an interview with CNN, said that Moore could request a recount if the margin is more than .5 percent, but that would be at Moore's expense. Merrill added that a small number of provisional ballots, and ballots from military members stationed overseas, have yet to be counted. 

But Merrill conceded that it is highly unlikely that those numbers would be enough to flip Tuesday's election. 

"It's not over and it's going to take some time," Moore told supporters.

Merrill said that Tuesday's election won't be officially certified until December 26 at the earliest.