ˈæftɚɹ ˌoʊvɚɹ ɐ wˈiːk ʌv fˈaɪts ɪn kˈoːɹtɹuːmz ænd ɪnðə mˈiːdiːə, sˈiːdʒlmən, ˌɔn noʊvˈɛmbɚɹ ˈeɪtiːn, tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈuː,  mˌeɪd ɐ tˈɛlᵻvˌaɪzd ɐdɹˈɛs, sˈeɪɪŋ ðˈæt, "aɪv dᵻsˈaɪdᵻd ðˌæɾə pɹəlˈɔŋd ᵻlˈɛkʃən kˈɑːntɹəvˌɜːsi wʊd hˈɜːt ˌæləbˈæmə, wʊd hˈɜːt ðə vˈɛɹi pˈiːpəl ðæt wiː wˈɜːkt sˌoʊ hˈɑːɹd tə hˈɛlp", ænd ɐbˈændənd hɪz ˈɛfɚts tə sᵻkjˈʊɹ ɐ ɹᵻkˈaʊnt ʌvðə bˈɔːldwɪn kˈaʊnti vˈoʊt, ɐlˈaʊɪŋ ɹˈaɪli tə tˈeɪk ˈɑːfɪs.
After over a week of fights in courtrooms and in the media, Siegelman, on November 18, 2002,  made a televised address, saying that, "I've decided that a prolonged election controversy would hurt Alabama, would hurt the very people that we worked so hard to help", and abandoned his efforts to secure a recount of the Baldwin County vote, allowing Riley to take office.