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Election 2020 updates: Biden warns of 'dark winter,' pushes masks in pandemic plan

The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.

ByCatherine Thorbecke, Morgan Winsor, Libby Cathey, Adia Robinson, Lauren King, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, and Marc Nathanson
Last Updated: November 10, 2020, 10:14 AM EST

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.

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Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 03, 2020, 8:40 PM EST

Pipe bursts at Atlanta ballot processing facility

A pipe burst Tuesday morning in State Farm Arena in Atlanta and it delayed processing of ballots by about four hours, according to deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs.

"It had no impact on ballots, not a single ballot was damaged," Fuchs said, stating that any reports of damaged ballots are false.

State Farm Arena is the largest ballot processing center in the Fulton County, according to Fuchs. It is not yet clear exactly what effect this will have on results out of Fulton County, Georgia's most populous county in the state.

Voters cast ballots at Lucky Shoals Park polling station, Nov. 3, 2020, in Norcross, Ga.
Jessica Mcgowan/Getty Images

"The State Farm Arena team acted swiftly to remediate the issue. Within 2 hours, repairs were complete. No ballots were damaged, nor was any equipment affected. There was a brief delay in tabulating absentee ballots while the repairs were being conducted," according to a statement released by Fulton County.

The county also said that it will continue to tabulate the remaining ballots "over the next two days."

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

Nov 03, 2020, 8:38 PM EST

Trump projected to West Virginia 

Trump will win West Virginia's five electoral college votes, ABC News projects.

GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is also projected to win reelection in the state.

Nov 03, 2020, 8:35 PM EST

The crucial swing state of Florida

ABC News' Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce says that the Biden campaign knew Florida would be "a toss up," but she suspects that the campaign is "very surprised" by how tight the race is is key areas like Miami-Dade. Bruce touted how much time the Biden campaign spent in the state trying to win voters, especially the key demographic of senior voters.

"They have put a lot of effort into trying to get out the vote there and so much of the message there, of course, on the pandemic as they try to target senior voters," Bruce said.

Supporters of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden rally in front of a poll station at Coral Gable Branch Public Library in Miami, Nov. 3, 2020.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images

Nov 03, 2020, 8:30 PM EST

Polls close in Arkansas 

The polls are closing in Arkansas.

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