The 2020 presidential election has proven to be one of the most polarizing elections in history, taking on unique challenges along the way such as the coronavirus pandemic and intensifying Black Lives Matter movement. With radical groups such as Antifa and the Proud Boys contributing to such a political climate, it is only natural for a day like today—Joe Biden becoming the new president-elect—to evoke strong feelings in both liberals and conservatives.
Because of the polling challenges that COVID-19 presented early in the election cycle, the election has also garnered historical significance as one of the longest waits the nation has ever endured for definitive results. Nov. 3 began with Biden and Trump acquiring obvious blue and red states respectively, with Indiana as one of Trump’s earliest victories and Vermont as Biden’s. While these results were reported in a relatively timely manner, swing states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all accepted ballots post-election day, heavily delaying their results.
Florida—always a key swing state to monitor—went to Trump for the second time in a row. Though their polling was also not 100 percent accounted for until later, there was relatively little problems related to its results due to Trump’s overwhelming lead. Instead, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia were the swing states to watch. With Biden taking leads in Wisconsin and Michigan on Nov. 4 afternoon and evening, Nevada and Arizona offered the exact number of votes for Biden to reach the 270 minimum to win. Georgia remains extremely close, with 99 percent of polls reporting and a 0.1 percent difference in the percentage of votes as of 3:25 p.m. Saturday. This is significant moving forward because of Georgia’s relatively new status as a swing state—they have not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Polling places all around the nation faced other unique challenges apart from COVID-19. Georgia’s ballot processing site in Fulton County experienced a water pipe burst in the room holding ballots, resulting in a crucial delay of results from what would have been a critical win for either party. In Arizona, Maricopa County was forced to shut down their election office because of armed Trump supporters protesting outside their front doors. These delays, on top of flooding mail-in ballots and early voting, all contributed to the days of stressful waiting that America has been left stagnant in.
Nov. 3 to 7 have certainly left America stressed and in stasis, until today when Biden surpassed Trump in Pennsylvania votes with 99 percent of polls reporting. The state’s whopping 20 electoral votes place it third in swing state votes, only to Florida and Texas—which last voted blue 40 years ago for Jimmy Carter. These 20 votes put Biden over the edge in his road to 270, now sitting at 290 votes total. As news networks including CNN, NBC and New York Times flooded the internet with their calling Biden’s victory, cities all over the United States made noise from their windows and streets in celebration—a touching parallel to the essential worker celebrations in New York lockdown earlier in the pandemic.
Though a confrontational political climate and party polarization both still exist, the results given today allow America to move forward in their political pursuits on both sides. The overwhelming delay and stressful waiting have weighed on all of our minds, but now—no matter how this historic news sits with the population—the nation can move forward.
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