The Moment We've Been Waiting For

The Moment We’ve All Been Waiting For: The 2020 Election

By Sofia Schilo and Mizell Hassel

In such a chaotic year, many of us have been anxiously awaiting the election. Whether you support Trump or Biden, we’ve all been hoping the craziness would end. And finally, the election is upon us. Though it is far from over, with many votes left to count, it was a nerve-wracking night, no matter which side you’re on. Read on to see our breakdown of what happened.

Early into the night, Biden had some slim leads in a lot of key swing states such as North Carolina, Ohio, and even Florida. Just after the second polls closed at around 7:30 pm ET, Biden was projected to win in Maryland, DC, Delaware, and Massachusetts. There were some other states that were called very early as well, such as Indiana, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, which went to President Trump. By 8pm ET, Biden was ahead with 30 electoral votes, and Trump with 26.

As time passed, the race got tighter and tighter. Trump won a couple more states, including Tennessee and West Virginia, while Biden scored an unsurprising win in New York. By 9pm ET, Biden was still leading in the Electoral College with 73 votes, and Trump with 48. We won't bore you with the hour-by-hour description, but as time passed we continued to see that this critical race could not be called until it was over.

Election night - and the days that followed - brought surprising results, particularly on Biden’s end, with wins and close races in states never before considered blue states or even neutral. One key example of this is in the state of Georgia. With sixteen electoral votes at stake here, the race was closing in as time passed. At first, Trump’s lead was apparent and expected, as this is a consistently red state, and as the gap began to close on Wednesday night, there was talk of a flip. At the time, having Georgia along with just one other state - any state - would end the race with a win for Biden. According to CNN, Biden is leading in the 2 states he needs to win the election, Arizona and Nevada, though there are still many votes waiting to be counted.

Another example of a state that may flip before the election is over is Pennsylvania. This state has been leaning towards Trump since early on but as more votes are counted, there is more of a chance for Biden to take the lead. Unlike some states that flipped, there is a clear-cut reason for the closing of this gap. Absentee (mail-in) ballots are counted last in Pennsylvania and evidence shows that these votes are predominantly Democratic. This means that the first votes may not be completely accurate samples and that as time passes, results can change.

As of the evening of Friday November 6th, Biden is leading in Nevada and Arizona, both of which he needs - unless he wins another, less expected state - if he wants to win the election. Biden has surprisingly pulled ahead in Georgia, a state that would put him over the top. He is also now leading in Pennsylvania, something that was expected to occur as more votes were counted. Biden has 253 electoral votes, while Trump has 213. If all states that are leaning towards Biden are won by him, then he will win the 2020 Presidential Election, and assuming Trump does the same, he will end up with 268. A candidate needs a minimum of 270 electoral college votes to win the election and therefore if everything stays the same as it is, Biden will be the winner.

This year’s election is drastically different than any other in history based on the way votes are cast and counted, the criteria that voters are using for their selected candidate, and the overall results that we are seeing as the days pass. Critical states are flipping back and forth, which is causing the Trump Campaign trouble. When Michigan flipped over to put Biden in the lead, Trump made the decision to sue the state and demand that they stop counting votes. It also causes confusion and recount requests which are likely soon to come. Not only are the results affected but the direct system of voting has changed as well, in order to suit the pandemic precautions. For example, absentee ballots, which is a way for voters to cast their vote without attending the polls in person, are significantly more common in this election than in any other. This is part of the reason that there is so much worry about fraud. The Republican Party has said that absentee mail-in voting is less secure than going in person, for which the party has no evidence of. Mail-in voting has been available for many, many years. It may be a while until we find out the true results of the election, but as of right now, things are looking up for Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

Around 1:00 pm on Saturday, November 7th, news sources began to call the official results of this election in Biden’s favor and most consider him now President Elect of the United States. This year’s election had ups and downs for both candidates as well as moments where no one was sure what would happen. Incumbent Donald Trump is now considered a one-term president and will serve until January when Biden will be inaugurated. Though almost all sources are currently saying that it is over, the official results will not be in until the electoral college meets to vote on who should be the president (although they nearly always vote on the elect). Trump himself is still saying that he is the rightful winner. This has been going on since Wednesday and he has continued to say that the election was “stolen” from him via mass voter fraud. His campaign will go to court with the case with hopes to bypass the true results that the electoral college showed. But for now, we can say that Joe Biden is our nation’s next president.