The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.
Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump. ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency.
The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate.
Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed.
Painting the election as a "battle for the soul of the nation," Biden won on a message of unity over division, compassion over anger, and reality over what he called Trump's "wishful thinking" as the coronavirus pandemic cast a heavy shadow over the campaign.
The 2020 election has shattered voting records with votes totaling 147 million and counting, surpassing the 138 million who voted in 2016.
Milwaukee election officials will livestream their tabulation of the county’s absentee ballots, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Local election officials estimate the process could take until 3 or 4 a.m.
Those interested can tune in on YouTube, where three cameras have been set up to live broadcast the whole process.
In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Commissioners are similarly broadcasting tabulations.
Biden wrapped up an Election Day visit to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.
The former vice president visited his childhood home and church as well as a local carpenters' union and gave his granddaughters a tour of the place he grew up.
He signed the walls of his childhood home during this trip, writing, “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-2020.”
He also stopped by the sandwich shop Hanks Hoagies, where supporters flocked Biden.
Earlier in the morning in Delaware, Biden attended church and visited the gravesite of his late son Beau Biden -- at the same cemetery that his first wife and baby daughter were buried in 1972.
After Scranton, Biden is heading to Philadelphia.
-ABC News' John Verhovek.
First Lady Melania Trump was spotted arriving at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday to cast her vote.
The first lady was the only person not wearing a mask at the site, according to pool reports. Melania Trump briefly spoke to the press Tuesday morning, saying she was feeling “great.” When asked why she did not vote with the president ahead of time, she said, "It’s Election Day, so I wanted to come here to vote today for the election."
The polls are opening in much of Alaska and the State Elections Office opens for accessible voting in Washington.
