Mia Raspanti
Asst. News Editor
On Saturday, four days following Election Day, former Vice-President Joe Biden became President-elect Joe Biden after winning Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes thus catapulting him over the threshold of 270 votes needed to win the presidency.
The 2020 Presidential election will go down as one of the most important, publicized and controversial elections in the history of our country. The continuous feud between President Donald Trump and the now President-elect Biden has left our country in divided down party lines, as Americans attempt to keep up with the polls and the number of electoral votes garnered by each candidate.
For the four day long stretch following the election, the race remained close with President Trump ultimately claiming 214 electoral votes and President-elect Biden totaling 290 votes. As of Saturday, the states of Georgia, North Carolina and Alaska remained too close to call leaving 34 electoral votes still up for grabs.
Having won a majority of the midwest and the south, Trump quickly accumulated more electoral college votes than political analysts had predicted. On election night Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia were all leaning “red,” yet ultimately resulted in Georgia and Pennsylvania flipping for the President-elect. President Trump also won the states of Texas and Florida putting him at an advantage on election night.
The Trump campaign raises claims about absentee ballot fraud, for they are doubting the integrity of the system. The administration instituted a series of lawsuits in states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The President’s multi-state lawsuits resulted in the pause of some vote counting in various states thus delaying the process. Trump, his campaign and administration have expressed doubts throughout the entire campaign thus far about the accuracy of the absentee ballot system, claiming that fraud could be easily committed. He believes his defeat is due to fraudulent ballots. While there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, the accusation of irregularities in the voting process raises concern among many.
The COVID-19 pandemic and rise in concerns surrounding race relations throughout the country are possible reasons for the highest amount of voter turnout in modern history. Over 161 million Americans voted in 2020 which is the highest number of Americans ever to vote in any election. In comparison to eligible voters, the 2020 election saw a turnout of approximately 66.8% of eligible voters which is the highest percentage since 1900. President-elect Joe Biden has accumulated more votes than any other U.S. President in any election in history totaling approximately 74,939,396 votes. President Trump has accumulated 70,636,322 total votes.
President-elect Joe Biden won every state in the northeast region, along with other major
victories such as California. The 55 electoral college votes provided by California put the President-Elect at a major advantage in the race to 270. President Trump's path to re-election began to narrow, when the former Vice President flipped both Michigan and Wisconsin, two states Hillary Clinton famously lost in 2016. Many are surprised at the percentage of red and blue voters in many states, as Biden has won various states by a narrow amount. Having won Arizona and Wisconsin by a mere 0.7% showing the division that continues to be rampant in the country.
It can take upwards of two weeks in order to account for all of the absentee ballots that were mailed in. North Carolina officials have stated that Americans should not expect a final count until next week. With the current pandemic occurring, more people than usually voted through the mail will continue to delay the process.
President-elect Joe Biden will officially take the highest office of the United States on January 20th, 2021. His running mate former California Senator Kamala Harris, will be the first woman to serve as Vice President of the United States.
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