By Julia Schwed ’21, Staff Writer

On December 12th, 2017, a special election will be held in Alabama to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he is appointed United States Attorney General by President Trump. Voters in Alabama will be asked to choose between Democratic candidate Doug Jones and Republican candidate Roy Moore. On November 9th, the Washington Post published an article that reported accusations by four females aged 14 to 18 that Roy Moore had made sexual advances towards them when he was in his thirties. One of the women, Leigh Corfman, told the Washington Post that she met Roy Moore when she was 14 and he was a 32 year old assistant district attorney in Alabama. Corfman and the other women gave specific details about Moore’s actions, and the Post interviewed many witnesses who corroborated their stories. In the past week at least four more women have made similar allegations against Moore. He has denied these allegations.

This incident has raised a difficult question for the Republican party: should Moore continue to be the Republican candidate? With the election one month away, under Alabama law, it is too late for Moore’s name to be taken off the ballot. However, he could withdraw from the election and encourage his supporters to vote for a write-in candidate. Many Republican leaders, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have encouraged him to do that. Moore has refused to withdraw. He claims that these allegations are a plot by Democrats and establishment Republicans to block his election. Even if Moore doesn’t withdraw, Republicans have several options. First, they can support a write-in campaign by another Republican, with the hope that he beats both Jones and Moore. Second, the Alabama governor can delay the election. The third option? Even if Moore wins, Republican senators can refuse to seat him. World Cultures teacher Mr. Abdul-Malik said, “If ever there was a first time [that a senator was not seated] this should be it.”  Although it has not happened since the Civil War, if all 48 Democrats and half of the Republicans in Senate join together, they could refuse to seat Moore or vote to expel him from the senate.

Roy Moore should withdraw from the race, and if he does not, the Republicans should support a write-in candidate and refuse to seat Moore, or vote to expel him if he wins. Somebody who is engaged in this type of conduct should not have the power and responsibility of a United States Senator. Mr. Abdul-Malik also commented, “It is a privilege to serve in the Senate, and he does not deserve that privilege.” Many Republicans and Democrats throughout the country share the belief that he is not fit to serve in the Senate. Mikey Marcus ‘21 agrees: “People who are in political office are leaders of this country and people follow them; they act as role models, so having someone like him in office is unacceptable.”

Many Moore supporters believe that he should stay on the ballot and be seated if elected. In their opinion, it is up to the voters in Alabama to decide whether they believe Moore or his accusers and if he is fit for office. On November 16th, the Alabama Republican Party announced its unyielding support. The party chairwoman, Terry Lathan, said that Moore “deserves to be presumed innocent of the accusations unless proven otherwise.”

This is an issue beyond partisan lines. The time to prosecute Moore based on these allegations has passed, so the argument that he must be presumed innocent unless convicted is meaningless. The allegations against Moore have been made by many women, including many Republican Trump supporters, that have been corroborated. In fact, following the Post report, it was revealed that when he was in his thirties, Moore was banned from an Alabama mall because he spent his Friday and Saturday evenings there and made repeated unwanted advances towards teenage girls.  As a future voter, I would like to believe that we live in a country where allegations such as these are not ignored and deciding right from wrong is not based on political party. I realize there are times when we can have a genuine debate about whether someone’s character makes them unfit for office, but this is not one of those times. If Roy Moore preyed on teenage girls, he should not be allowed to serve as a United States Senator, regardless of whether there is an R or a D in front of his name.

Update: On December 12th, 2017, Democratic candidate Doug Jones defeated Republican candidate Roy Jones, capturing 49.9% of the votes in Alabama.