President-elect Joe Biden won the Electoral College vote, affirming his win over President Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election.
Individual electors cast their ballots in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and they reflect their state’s popular vote.
California electors cast their 55 votes for Biden while Hawaii cast the final 4 electoral votes of the day for Biden, who got 306 total electoral votes. Trump had 232 votes.
“And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal,” Biden will say, based on speech excerpts released by the transition.
The Electoral College vote is considered as a formality, happening more than a month after Election Day votes are cast. However, Trump’s legislative efforts to dismiss the election results this year have made a significance upon the proceedings.
Trump's team filed dozens of lawsuits since Election Day, urging federal and state courts to nullify the election results due to alleged irregularities.
In November, Trump refused to concede the election following Biden's initial victory.
“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said in a statement issued minutes after NBC predicted that Biden had become president-elect.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump mentioned that his team will begin “prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld.”
Trump went to his private golf club in Sterling, Virginia, less than two hours before the U.S. elections were called for his rival.
Biden previously released a statement saying he is “honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect [Kamala] Harris.”
“In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America,” the president-elect said. “With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.”
Trump mentioned unfounded accusations of electoral fraud in key states before, despite pushback from election officials and judges in several court cases.
“Obviously he’s not going to concede when at least 600,000 ballots are in question,” Trump’s attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, said at a press conference in Philadelphia on Saturday, without giving evidence.
Still, Biden's team started their transition. They held a meeting with labor leaders and the executives of major companies to discuss economic recovery in November. He also had a meeting about threats facing the country with national security experts last month.
According to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Trump administration must work with the Biden transition team on coronavirus response.
“It’s almost like passing a baton in a race,” Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an interview on “State of the Union.” “You don’t want to stop, and then give it to somebody, you want to just essentially keep going.”
Dr. Fauci said that the transition period is important. He believes that the process would be smoother if Donald Trump’s administration will work with the Biden transition team.
When asked if health authorities would benefit from cooperating with the Biden transition team, Dr. Fauci said, “Of course it would be better if we can start working with them.”
