A consortium of Alabama newspapers called on voters over the weekend to reject Republican Senate Roy Moore because of his alleged history of abusing women and children.
In a column Saturday, the Al.com editorial board argues that the "election is a turning point for women in Alabama."
"Every day new allegations arise that illustrate a pattern of a man in his 30s strutting through town like the cock of the walk, courting and preying on young women and girls," the editorial board writes.
The piece notes that Al.com has independently investigated the claims of women who report that they were sexually abused by Moore at ages as young as 14.
The seriousness of these incidents, including one involving a 14-year-old child, cannot be overstated. Nor can the growing number of accusations -- from the women who were at the receiving end of unwanted adult male overtures as teens, to those who say they were physically assaulted -- be parsed with talk of statutes of limitations or whether proof has been recorded on a stone tablet. In the American system, proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a consideration for the courtroom, not the ballot box. It is our job as voters to look closely at the candidates and make up our own minds.
"This election has become a referendum on whether we will accept this kind of behavior from our leaders," the paper continues. "We each know someone in our lives who is a survivor of sexual assault or child abuse. Many of us are still searching for the words needed to tell our own stories and some may never find that voice. This election is about them."
The editors add: "This utter disregard for people unlike himself, his pathological fixation on sex, and the steps he's taken to actively diminish other people's freedoms, is more than enough to have disqualified him from this office long before these women stepped into the public eye."
In the end, the editors of Al.com suggest that voters cast their ballots for Democratic candidate Doug Jones or write in a candidate other than Moore.
Read the entire editorial here.
