“Democracy is sometimes messy,” said former Vice President and Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden to voters at a press conference Thursday. Two days after the voting season concluded, the counting of ballots continues in the states of Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Alaska and Pennsylvania.
Biden encouraged voters to “stay calm” and to be patient as each vote is counted. “In America, the vote is sacred,” said Biden. “ It’s how people of this nation express their will, and it is the will of the voters.
“No one, not anyone else, chooses the president of the United States of America,” Biden said, seemingly referring to President Donald Trump who has prematurely and incorrectly declared himself the winner of the election. “So each ballot must be counted, and that’s what we’re going through now.”
President Trump’s hopes for a second term appear to be dashed as he continues to trail Biden in the electoral vote count. He addressed the media Thursday from the White House where he claimed the election was being stolen from him and calling into question the integrity of the electoral process.
He offered no specific or direct evidence of fraud. But his legal team has filed numerous lawsuits in an attempt to stop the vote count in the remaining states.
Biden appears to be on the cusp of victory
Biden has a much easier path to the all-important 270 electoral votes. Many media outlets have him at 253 electoral votes and Trump at 214. It should be noted, however, that the Associated Press and Fox News have already called Arizona for Biden, bringing his tally to 264. As of late Thursday evening, some 40,000 votes separated the two. The state has 11 electorate votes.
The remaining ballots that are being counted in Pennsylvania are said to be mail-in ballots that have overwhelmingly favored Biden. Since Tuesday, President Trump has seen his lead in Pennsylvania shrink from over 600,000. Biden now leads in the state.
Biden’s electoral advantage was powered, in part, by a strong showing in the Midwest. He won Minnesota by seven points, outperforming Hillary Clinton who won the state by just 1.5 points in 2016. He also flipped both Wisconsin and Michigan, two states Clinton lost.
If Biden prevails to become the 46th president of the United States, history will be made. At 77, and turning 78 on Nov. 20, he would become the oldest president in U.S. history surpassing Ronald Reagan. His running mate Kamala Harris will become the first woman, first Black, and first Indian American to serve as the U.S. vice president. Biden has shattered Barack Obama’ss record for the most votes cast for a presidential candidate with over 77 million and counting. In 2008, Obama set a record with 69 million.
Look for more election stories to follow on the MSR.
Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.