Joe Biden passes 270

When there were no clear results on the night of November 3 or the morning of November 4 in regards to the 2020 Presidential Election, the country seemed to collectively hold its breath. On the morning of November 7, at approximately 9:25 a.m. MST, a projected winner was announced by the Associated Press.

Clearing the required 270 electoral votes, the Associated Press–along with Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News–called the 2020 Presidential Election for former vice president Joe Biden over incumbent President Donald Trump. With Biden projected to win Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes, the former vice president was at 284 while Trump was still at 214. 

Though there were plenty of states that were called for either Biden or Trump after the polls closed, such as Wyoming for Trump or California for Biden, it was not as quick or easy in a number of other states. This included battleground states, or swing states, such as Arizona, Florida, Texas, Nevada and Ohio. Included in the list of battleground states in the 2020 Presidential Election were those that, while traditionally blue states, had been narrowly won by Trump in 2016; Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

With Arizona called for Biden, it is the first time that the normally red state has been projected for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996. Additionally, Biden has held a narrow lead in Georgia where a Democratic candidate has not won since 1992. In fact, narrow leads were seen around the country in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada.

In the days since November 3, Trump’s campaign filed suits in states that had yet to declare a winner on Tuesday night. Judges in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan, however, have either ruled against the Trump campaign or have tossed out the cases entirely while there are some cases that are still ongoing. These suits have ranged from either halting the counting of mail-in votes entirely to allowing closer observation in ballot counting facilities.

Voter turnout was projected to be higher in 2020 than it was in 2016. While 2016 saw 138 million Americans cast their ballots, it is projected that more than 158 million Americans voted this year in the general election. This makes it the highest voter turnout in the United States since 1900. Of those, Trump was projected as having received approximately 71 million votes while Biden was projected to have received more than 75 million votes.

While the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office hasn’t released final data on voter turnout for the 2020 General Election, there was information in regards to registered voters on November 3. Wyoming is one of 21 states, and the District of Columbia, that allows for same-day voter registration. This year, there were 268,837 registered voters as of election day compared to 240,809 on election day in 2016 and 276,696 in 2018.

Though Biden has been projected as the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election, the presidential electors won’t be meeting until December 14. Any election disputes must be resolved by December 8. December 23 is the deadline for the receipt of ballots and January 6, 2021 will be the counting of the electoral ballots.