After days of states counting votes from in-person voters, as well as the large number of absentee and mail-in ballots this year, multiple news sources have projected that former Vice President Joseph Biden will be the 47th President of the United States. Sources such as CNN, the New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press, and many others have named Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the 2020 Presidential Election.
This year’s election set records across the map. In the midst of an international pandemic, many voters felt hesitant to go to the polls, causing many Americans to be a part of the 101 million that casted their votes early, according to Business Insider. President Trump had previously claimed that mail-in ballots were “going to be fraud like you’ve never seen,” during the first Presidential Debate on September 29. Trump’s supporters seemingly did heed that warning about early voting, as many Republicans chose to vote in-person this year. These Wall Street Journal and NBC surveys showed Democrats largely believed their mail-in or absentee ballots would be accurately counted, whereas Republicans were slightly more skeptical. Because of that, election-day results showed Mr. Trump with a lead across the US, but as early votes started to be counted over the next few days, Mr. Biden’s lead grew.
For former Vice President Joe Biden to win this election, his team knew they would have to win a number of swing states. This year particularly, Democrats clung to the hopes of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina swinging blue, as polls showed an increased possibility that they would change from the way they voted four years ago, and they were some of the last states to count their votes. The Associated Press called Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania as all turning blue this year, although as of Monday, November 10th, North Carolina is still counting their votes, which President Trump currently leads. Saturday morning, on the 7th, as more Pennsylvania votes came in, multiple news sources started announcing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the winners of the 2020 Presidential Election. This because the 20 electoral votes PA holds pushed Biden over the 270 electoral votes needed.
On a more local level, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen released a statement congratulating Biden for his win while highlighting his focus on “the issues that matter to American families” and working to “heal the deep divisions in our country,” before mentioning a number of goals Biden’s administration pushed during his campaign. Similarly, Congresswoman Annie Kuster released a statement saying she hopes “those out there who are disappointed in the result” will “focus on what unites us,” another push to attempt to unite Americans, especially considering the US’s condition in relation to COVID-19. Kuster also described her interest in aiding the Biden-Harris administration in their efforts to “enact Biden’s plan to seriously tackle the COVID-19 pandemic,” a large focus of the administration, as well as a big concern from voters this election.
President Donald Trump’s team also sent out a statement, claiming “Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner.” The Trump campaign has also said it is filing multiple lawsuits, the majority in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, and Georgia. Most of the lawsuits revolve around stopping vote counting or disqualifying groups of ballots. President Trump also said “Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.” He later went on to make a baseless claim: “the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters.”
President-elect and Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris spoke at 8pm on Saturday, the 7th. Senator Kamala Harris’ speech described voters’ decision to choose “hope, unity, decency, science, and… truth,” she then went on to talk about the minority groups of women in history who have allowed her to become the first woman and woman of color as a Vice President-elect in US history. She made a statement to all young girls in the US, saying “But while I may be the first woman in this office, I won’t be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” After Harris spoke, President-elect Joe Biden entered the stage to focus on his view of the US starting in his term as a unified nation, regardless of political affiliation, age, sexuality, or race. Biden next said he would work to “secure your family’s health care,” “achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in the country,” “save the climate,” and much more, all starting with controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
