Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., better known as Joe Biden, was projected the president-elect of the U.S. on Saturday, Nov. 7. His running mate, Kamala Devi Harris, was named vice president-elect of the U.S. as well. If the projections hold, they will be the 46th President and Vice President, respectively. 

Their victory is quite historic, with over 75,000,000 popular votes for Biden. He will be the second Catholic and first Delawarean to be elected for president. The vice president-elect also made history as the first woman, Asian, and Black person to fill the role. Biden’s rival, lame duck President Donald Trump, also received a historic number of popular votes—over 71,000,000. 

However, their triumph did not come quickly as a winner was not declared until five days after Election Day. This delay was caused by a couple of reasons. The different ways Americans voted across the country affected how the total number of votes per state were counted.

Trump falsely told his supporters that mail-in ballots led to fraud and pushed them to vote in-person. Biden encouraged his voters to mail in their ballots, and many did so due to the pandemic. 

“In the key state of Pennsylvania, state law requires mail-in ballots to be counted after those made in person. As a result, Trump ran out to a huge lead and watched Biden slowly but surely overtake him,” said The Hill.

Many key swing states, like Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, really did have their votes swinging between Biden’s Democratic blue and Trump’s Republican red. As of Nov. 9, Biden has a slim lead of around 11,000 votes.

Though not all states had submitted their final count, it was announced by the Associated Press that Biden beat Trump 290-214 on Nov. 7. 

“Trump on Saturday continued to make baseless claims that the election was rigged…in a statement made after the race was called, Trump defiantly claimed that ‘this race is far from over’ and pledged to challenged the result in the courts until ‘until the rightful winner is seated’,” reported The Washington Post. 

However, even if Trump wants to make states recount their ballots, most states have individual laws on how or when to recount. Some require a certain percentage of votes while others need their legislature to agree to a recount.

Trump’s announcements have created a stir, especially since most sitting presidents will invite the president-elect to the White House in order to congratulate them and have a small briefing between the two about presidency.

This unusual response from the president has created some uncertainty and stress for Americans who already live in a mounting time of unpredictably during a pandemic. Not only has the president’s response created anxiety and uncertainty, but the election has caused this as well, as states remain counting votes.

Photo courtesy of NBCNEWS.COM