Concession as a matter of convention, not law

Like so many things about politics in the United States, the concession by a losing candidate in a race for political office is a matter of convention but not of law. In the 2017 special election for the Alabama Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became President Trump's first Attorney General, Republican Roy Moore never conceded the election and filed an unsuccessful lawsuit alleging voter fraud, but Democrat Doug Jones still took office in January 2018. In the coming days, there will be much talk of who concedes, and when, but we should all keep in mind that concessions are secondary to the actual counting of all the votes. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 3 November)