[Editor’s note: The results of a presidential election must be certified by each state before either candidate is officially declared the winner. States have different deadlines for this process. When media outlets call a race for any candidate, it is merely a projection and not an official result.]
Brace yourself, folks. The television networks have called the 2020 presidential election, announcing Joe Biden as the winner in Pennsylvania – giving him, in theory, enough electoral college votes to become the next president. But is it over? Election officials have yet to call the win, and the Trump campaign has several legal challenges in play.
Networks rushed to the airwaves to announce that Biden had taken the 20 electoral votes in PA less than 15 minutes before Trump’s legal team was to hold a press conference in Philadelphia, PA. Trump campaign attorneys represented by Rudy Giuliani spoke about irregularities in the voting and ballot-counting process. Leftist media outlets immediately launched sensationalized headlines such as “You’re Fired” but the president vowed in a statement that the fight is not yet over:
“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.”
President Donald Trump
Talk of voter fraud is nothing new, but it has been an increasing concern as the country rapidly went to mail-in ballots less than 90 days before a presidential election. Americans went to bed on election night with the president holding a comfortable lead, only to wake up to a drastically changed race for the White House. On Nov. 4, for example, Wisconsin and Michigan received huge ballot dumps. Miraculously, all votes were for Biden. Pennsylvania had more than 10,000 people over the age of 95 somehow voting in this election, and other voting concerns popped up in various states.
The AP, in its announcement that Biden had won, said: “Trump seized on delays in processing the vote in some states to falsely allege voter fraud and argue that his rival was trying to seize power – an extraordinary charge by a sitting president trying to sow doubt about a bedrock democratic process.” But, with such a close race and networks not even agreeing, doubts are prevalent.
Trump vowed to start more legal processes as early as Monday, saying:
“It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the court room – and then fight in court to block their access.”
At press time, the state of Nevada was also called for Biden, bringing his electoral vote count to 279 (not counting Arizona) or 290 with AZ to Trump’s 214 – without an official call from election officials and with many states being challenged. “So what is Biden hiding?” Trump asked. “I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands.”
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
