It was not immediately clear Wednesday if Moore could request a recount at the current margins. State law allows candidates to challenge recounts outside the automatic trigger if they are willing to pay the costs. Merrill suggested in interviews that that could be an option — albeit an expensive one — for Moore. But election law expert Rick Hasen noted in a post late Tuesday that the law only appears to cover statewide offices, not federal ones.
Asked about this Wednesday, Merrill said “if we need advice or counsel on this matter, we’ll be seeking it from attorneys and judges in the state of Alabama, not attorneys and judges in the state of California.”