by Kayli Comine | November 24, 2020 9:21 am
A historic number of Americans went to the polls on November 3rd to determine the next President and the make-up of the 117th Congress. The night proved to be a nail biter for both Republicans and Democrats as the outcome was still in doubt in the early hours of the morning. Both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden appeared to discuss the incoming results. Many Americans went to sleep on election night unsure of what the outcome would be.
The vote counting went on in several states that were very close until the following weekend. It was not until Saturday November 7th that major news media outlets declared Joe Biden as the winner. On that same night President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gave speeches in Biden’s home state of Delaware. President Trump still refuses to concede the election and has launched numerous legal challenges in several states that determined the outcome of the election.
As it stands right now, Biden has 306 electoral votes well over the 270 votes needed to win the election. The states that Biden won that Trump won in 2016 are Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona.
On a local note, Biden was able to win one electoral vote out of Nebraska by winning the popular vote in the Second Congressional District. Nebraska is one of only two states that has the ability to split its electoral votes. This is the second time in history that Nebraska has split its electoral vote. The first time was in 2008 when former President Barack Obama also won the Second Congressional District.
On the Congressional side, the Democrats retained control of their majority in the House of Representatives, although it will be smaller as Republicans did pick up some seats. To the dismay of many Republicans, Nancy Pelosi will continue in her role as the only female Speaker of the House in American history. Senate control will not be determined until January 5th when the state of Georgia will elect their two senators in run-off elections.
President Trump and his legal team are currently launching a furious legal strategy to try and show that there was widespread voter fraud across America. President Trump has said he thinks this election will eventually be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. Their legal window lasts between November 4th and December 14th. During this time period, all states will be going through the process of certifying their voting results. The next step will be each state’s electors casting their Electoral College votes in their home state. The final step for the election will take place on January 6th, 2021 in a joint session of Congress where the Electoral College vote is made official.
The final chapter of the 2020 election has yet to be written.
Source URL: https://antler.express/5585/news/2020-election-aftermath/
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