Joe Biden Just Won the 2020 Election—Again

Carolyn Kaster/AP

Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.California’s 55 electors just formally concluded the fraught 2020 election season by casting ballots for Joe Biden, driving the former vice president’s Electoral College total past the 270 votes needed to officially win the presidency.
Today’s Electoral College proceedings presented no surprises. In red states, electors voted for Donald Trump. In blue states—including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin—electors voted for Joe Biden. By the end of the day, the formal process for electing Biden president will be complete.
Some Republicans have suggested this would be the day they put the false claims of election fraud behind them and acknowledged Biden as president-elect. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) have all suggested that the Electoral College vote would mark the end of any squabbling over election results. Whether Trump will ever formally concede remains to be seen.

Senate Majority Whip John Thune said that Joe Biden is president-elect once he crosses 270 electoral votes and says efforts to challenge the results in Congress is “not going anywhere.” He said “it’s time for everybody to move on” after today.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 14, 2020