It’s official: US Electoral College affirms Biden’s win, Trump’s loss
The US Electoral College has made it official: Joe Biden won the US presidential election and Donald Trump lost. They formally chose Biden yesterday, Dec. 14, as the 46th president of the United States, giving him an electoral majority of 306 votes and affirming his victory in last month’s election.
Biden beat Trump, who had 232 electoral votes, by a 74-vote margin. The Electoral College votes came after weeks of Trump’s refusal to concede. According to reports, some states had to put extra security as electors cast paper ballots. The results will be tallied in a joint session of Congress, which Vice President Mike Pence will preside over, on Jan. 6.
Though Biden did not directly address Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud in his speech, the President-elect said, “Together, Vice President-elect Harris and I earned 306 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 electoral votes needed to secure victory. 306 electoral votes is the same number of electoral votes that Donald Trump and Vice President Pence received when they won in 2016. At the time, President Trump called the electoral college tally a landslide. By his own standards, these numbers represented a clear victory then, and I respectfully suggest they do so now.”
Vermont, with three votes, was the first state to report; Hawaii, with four votes, was the last. California’s 55 electoral votes put Biden over the top. Biden beat Trump by more than 7 million in popular vote.
Biden said, “The rule of law, our constitution and the will of the people prevail. Our democracy, pushed, tested threatened, proved to be resilient, true and strong. The Electoral College votes, which occurred today, despite the fact that even in the face of a public health crisis unlike anything we've experienced in our lifetime, people voted. They voted in record numbers.
“More Americans voted this year than they have ever voted in the history of the United States of America. Over 155 million Americans were determined to have their voices heard and their votes counted. At the start of this pandemic, this crisis, many were wondering how many Americans would actually vote at all. But those fears proved to be unfounded.
"We saw something very few predicted, even thought possible—the biggest voter turnout in the history of the United States of America. A number so big that this election now ranks as the clearest demonstration of the true role of the American people. One of the most amazing demonstrations of civic duty we've ever seen in our country. It should be celebrated not attacked.”
Biden lauded “everyday Americans, our friends and our neighbors,” for demonstrating “absolute courage” and doing their duty in the face of the pandemic.
Nicknamed the “scrappy kid from Scranton,” Biden is a former senator and vice president who comes from humble beginnings. Biden was born on Nov. 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Claymont, Delaware when he was 10 years old.
Biden is married to Prof. Jill Biden, who will be the first First Lady of the United States to have a full-time job. “I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and to lift up the profession,” she said in an interview with CBS ahead of the presidential election.
Dr. Biden is a university professor with four degrees (one bachelor’s, two master’s and one doctorate).
Kamala Harris is the first woman and woman of color to be elected US Vice President. She is also the first South Asian-American to reach the second highest office in the land.
Harris’ political career began as a deputy district attorney in Almeda County. In 2003, she became San Francisco Attorney General and in 2010 California Attorney General. She was a California senator when she ran with Biden.
What beats deep in the hearts of the American people is this: Democracy. pic.twitter.com/jVM7Zc3qWP
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 15, 2020