After a nail-biting race that has dragged on for four days and expected to continue for longer, Democratic Candidate Joe Biden has reached 273 Electoral Votes, surpassing the votes needed to become the president-elect of the United States.
The key state for Biden’s race was Pennsylvania, a state that went to Donald Trump in 2016. Worth 20 Electoral Votes, winning this state — which is Biden’s home state and the place where he started off his campaign — gave Biden the winning votes after claiming the state by a 0.5% margin — just a little over 34,000 votes.
While there are still some states left to count, it is now mathematically impossible for Donald Trump to win the election at this point.
The election, not the expected landslide that the Democrats wanted and far closer than most oversaw, was historic: more Americans voted in 2020 — and voted by mail — than in any other election in U.S. History.
The voter turnout for this general election was around 67%, where 160 million eligible citizens voted. Percentage-wise, this is the highest turnout rate that the country has seen in 120 years — and with more ballots left to count, this historic turnout will continue breaking records. Among the record-makers are young people, where a mighty number of eligible Millennials and Gen Z — a powerful voting bloc that encompasses 20% of eligible voters in the nation — casted their ballots this election. As of now, the young vote makes up around 17% of all ballots casted.
The winning ticket also set records: Senator Kamala Harris of California, Biden’s running mate, is the first woman, and the first woman of color, on a winning presidential ticket. In a year that saw the most women run for President than ever before, Harris — a former frontrunner in the Democratic primaries — broke another barrier.
She is now the first woman, first Black, and first South Asian Vice President-elect.
With the record voter turnout, Biden is also now the candidate with the most popular votes ever received, amassing more than 70 million votes and breaking Barack Obama’s records.
With some states’ results still in the air though, the next days will unfold critically as the Trump campaign has promised legal action. Donald Trump, who has claimed that there was fraud in mail-in ballots in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, has pursued lawsuits on the results of this race.
“I won this election by A LOT,” tweeted President Trump earlier today.
The Biden campaign, on the other hand, is celebrating. With a historic win, Biden — who already added “President-Elect” to his Twitter bio — is promising union and bringing the country together again.
“America, I’m honored that you have chosen me,” read his first tweet after becoming President-Elect. “I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.”
“I will keep the faith that you have placed in me.”
