Write-in votes for Nick Saban may have swayed Alabama Senate

Democrat Doug Jones on Tuesday night won the Alabama Senate Election, ousting heavily-favored Roy Moore with the help of large voter turnout and what's believed to be an unexpected sizable number of write-in votes for Alabama coach Nick Saban.

One Alabama voter who spoke with MSNBC says he voted for Saban and believes many others did as well.

According to Dan Zak of The Washington Post, the number of total write-in votes exceeded the margin of victory for Jones, meaning it had a profound impact on Tuesday's final results.

21,311 votes separating Jones from Moore. #ALSEN — Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) December 13, 2017

Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard fought victory. The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2017

How many of the nearly 23,000 write-in votes were for Saban? Several outlets, including CBS, have suggested Saban may finish with the third-most votes, mostly from Republicans who weren't satisfied with Moore.

RELATED: Democrat political group publishes ad urging votes for Nick Saban

Later this month, it appears write-in totals for candidates will be released under a new Alabama state law since the total number exceeds the margin between Jones and Moore.

Thanks to a new state law in Alabama, we're actually going to find out how many write-in votes Nick Saban got pic.twitter.com/eMAUX5jtS8 — Ryan Ginn (@rmginn) December 13, 2017

There were plenty of assumptions, most tongue-in-cheek, made about Saban's write-in votes Tuesday night on Twitter, but it's obvious media members are interested in final voting results. That answer appears to be coming after Christmas:

Alabama coach Nick Saban’s contract does NOT give him a bonus based on the number of write-in votes he gets in a U.S. Senate election. — Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) December 13, 2017

I will laugh for 48 hours straight if the write-in votes for Nick Saban decide the Bama election — BUM CHILLUPS (@edsbs) December 13, 2017

OMG, they’re going to announce all the write-in votes. Saban is going to have more than the difference between Jones and Moore. We’ll know between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3. This is awesome. — Dieter Kurtenbach (@dkurtenbach) December 13, 2017

Jones fills the the U.S. Senate seat for the state of Alabama vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.