FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 photo, U.S. Sen.-elect Doug Jones speaks during a news conference in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama is sorting through write-in votes in last week's U.S. Senate election, though Secretary of State John Merrill says the outcome isn't expected to change. Merrill announced Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, that counties will check write-in votes under a new state law that only requires poll workers to sort through them if the number of write-ins is higher than the winner's margin of victory. There were 22,814 write-ins. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
December 22, 2017 - 11:43 AM
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama election officials say they will certify Democratic candidate Doug Jones' upset victory over Republican rival Roy Moore next week.
The Alabama Secretary of State announced in a statement Friday that the election results would be finalized next Thursday.
Jones defeated Moore on Dec. 12 to become the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alabama in a quarter-century. Moore was besieged by decades-old accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls when he was in his 30s. He has denied the allegations.
Moore has not conceded the race. In a Thursday fundraising letter to his supporters, Moore said he needs donations to investigate what he calls reports of fraud and irregularities in the election.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017