2020 Election Wrap-up (?)
After a protracted waiting period while ballots were counted in crucial swing states, reputable news outlets, from the AP to Fox News, have finally stated what’s been obvious for days: Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won the 2020 US presidential election.
That Biden would be the popular vote winner was never in serious doubt, celestially or terrestrially, but the US Constitution provides for a less-than-democratic mechanism to determine who actually holds the office. In 2016, despite winning the contest by almost 3 million more votes, Hillary Clinton was denied the presidency on an Electoral College technicality. With 4 million-plus more voters casting their ballots for him, that unfair outcome has been avoided in 2020, and Joe Biden will now assume the office, with 273 Electoral College votes to Donald Trump’s 214. Not all states have been called, but when Pennsylvania fell to Biden on the morning of Saturday, November 7th, there was no longer a numeric path to victory for Donald Trump; the former VP had surpassed the 270 vote threshold. If the current leaders retain their positions and win those states where they are ahead, the final tally will be Joe Biden 306 and Donald Trump 230; ironically, this is the same number by which Trump won in 2016.