Year in review: Joe Biden elected President of the United States
Posted December 28, 2020 7:00 am.
WASHINGTON – It was a vote like no other in American history. Like many things this year, the U.S. presidential election was made even more complicated by COVID-19.
I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
The way the Trump White House managed the pandemic not only affected how Americans voted but perhaps who they voted for.
Despite fears of clashes at polling places, chaos sparked by the coronavirus pandemic and confusion due to disinformation and swiftly changing voting rules, millions across the country cast ballots in a historically contentious election with few problems.
A record number of ballots were cast early and by mail.
Some swing states saw delays in vote counting and reporting because of the larger-than-usual number of those mail-in ballots. Trump sowed the seeds of doubt early, months before the election.
Democrat Joe Biden took the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin. Other states that historically voted red flipped to blue.
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As a result of the unprecedented advance voting numbers, major news outlets delayed their projection of the winners until four days after the election.
Ultimately, it wasn’t all that close. Biden won 306 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 232.
But Trump and many among the Republican party refuse to accept the result.
In the end, Biden received more than 81 million votes, beating the record of 69.5 million set by Barack Obama in 2008. And at age 78, Biden will be the oldest commander-in-chief to take the oath of office.
-with files from NEWS 1130 and the Associated Press
