On Nov. 7, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were declared victorious in the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Biden won the popular vote by roughly 5 million votes and the electoral college by 76 votes. He also earned more votes than any other president in American history, due to a record turnout. Biden ended this race with a total of 290 electoral votes, putting him over the 270 electoral minimum requirement needed to win the presidency. Trump trailed with a total of 214 electoral votes and lost the popular vote once again. 

For months now, Americans knew this was not going to be a pretty election. This was mainly due to the fact that Trump did not like the sight of Biden leading him in almost all of the polls. He suggested that if he were to lose to Biden, he would not concede or commit to a peaceful transition of power. Trump also claimed that having an election with so many mail-in ballots, due to safety concerns considering the global pandemic, would cause widespread fraud and swing the election in Joe Biden’s favor unfairly. These claims were proven to be false by the Center of Democracy and Technology (CDT). 

Trump strongly discouraged his supporters from using the mail-in ballots to cast their vote, inciting that voting in person would be much more secure. Biden on the other hand, promoted the use of mail-in ballots, ensuring his voters it is a safe and easy way to cast their vote. 

As results started to roll in on Nov. 3, it was clear the majority of Trump’s supporters listened to him and voted in person, which is why the electoral map gleamed in red for Trump early on election night. Biden’s supporters primarily voted by mail and those votes took more time to count and process in comparison to the in-person direct votes, especially since some states were not even allowed to start counting mail-in ballots until election day. As more mail-in ballots started to be processed and added into the electoral map, Trump’s so-called “Red Surge” diminished and Biden started to take the lead. After seeing this flip on the map, Trump sought out fraud since his lead was no longer present. He took it upon himself on election night to declare a false victory, with not even all of the states have been counted in yet. He also was not at the 270 electoral minimum to declare a legit victory, and never made it to 270. 

“This is a fraud on the American public, this is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election, frankly we did win this election,” Trump said during his false victory speech. 

Biden was able to flip many crucial states that leaned red in 2016. This is what cleared the path to his victory. He won Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and most importantly, Pennsylvania. These states alone, excluding Pennsylvania, racked up 53 electoral votes for Biden. Pennsylvania was on high watch since it leaned red for Trump in the first few days of counting votes, but as mail-in ballots from the democratic areas of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia started to come in, Biden began to lead, giving him hope he could win the state. After a close race with Trump, with only a 45,339 count difference, Biden did come out as the winner, which is what got him to exceed the 270 electoral requirement. 

Trump is not sitting well with these results and is currently planning to file lawsuits in the states of Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for fraud. Trump and his campaign have not presented any evidence that suggests widespread voter fraud occurred in these states, but is still heading to the Supreme Court to hopefully overturn this election in his favor. These states all have Trump losing slightly to Biden. 

Biden’s victory not only gave him a presidential title but also to his running mate, Kamala Harris, who will become America’s first ever woman elected as vice president. Her win puts her in the history books as not just the first woman, but also the first African-Asian-American to be elected. 

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris addressed the public to give their acceptance speeches. 

“I am humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn’t see red and blue states, but a United States,” Biden said during his acceptance speech. 

“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,” Harris said during her acceptance speech. 

Trump has not congratulated Biden or made a concession speech since the official announcement from the Associated Press (AP).  He claimed on Twitter that the media cannot declare who the president is. Trump and his supporters are not giving up and are hopeful they can overturn the results in court. Biden and his supporters are beyond joyous and are not letting Trump get in the way of their historic victory.