Elections chief: Recount unlikely to change Alabama vote

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Still-uncounted ballots are unlikely to change the outcome of the U.S. Senate race in Alabama enough to spur an automatic recount, the state's election chief said Wednesday.

Republican Roy Moore has refused to concede Tuesday's race to Democrat Doug Jones, who pulled off a stunning upset in what is normally a reliably Republican-leaning state.

"Realize, when the vote is this close, it is not over," Moore told supporters at his election-night party in Montgomery.

Jones is leading Moore by about 20,000 votes, or about 1.5 percent, with all precincts counted.

A 2003 Alabama law triggers an automatic recount when the winner's margin of victory is less than half of 1 percent.