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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.

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.

Top headlines:

Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 04, 2020, 6:34 PM EST

Biden team launches transition website

While the Biden campaign has been careful not to officially declare victory, it is projecting confidence and moving ahead with transition plans, launching buildbackbetter.com -- the official Biden transition website. 

"The American people will determine who will serve as the next President of the United States," the site says. "Votes are still being counted in several states around the country. The crises facing the country are severe -- from a pandemic to an economic recession, climate change to racial injustice -- and the transition team will continue preparing at full speed so that the Biden‑Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One."

Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks as Sen. and Vice-Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, looks on at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., Nov. 4, 2020.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The statement is all that currently exists on the website but illustrates how the campaign has been quietly working on transition plans behind the scenes, even as the race remains undecided

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 04, 2020, 6:19 PM EST

US seized 27 domain names Iran allegedly used in global influence campaign

The Justice Department announced Wednesday that on Election Day it successfully seized 27 domain names it said were used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in an unlawful global covert influence campaign. 

"Today's 27 seizures are another important step against Iran's worldwide disinformation campaign," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson said in a statement. "This work will continue.  We cannot allow Iran's attachment to fake news to overtake our commitment to the rule of law."

According to the Justice Department, four domains purported to be news outlets targeting audiences in the U.S. to influence policy and public opinion. Others were used to target audiences around the globe. 

-ABC News' Alexander Mallin

Nov 04, 2020, 6:17 PM EST

ABC News to air a primetime election special at 10 p.m. ET

A primetime special -- "Your Voice Your Vote: Election 2020" -- will air on ABC television network and ABC News Live at 10 p.m., with correspondents fanned out across the country to provide updates on the presidential race from the states that are still counting votes.

ABC News Live will also stream a three-hour edition of "ABC News Live Prime" starting at 7 p.m.

Nov 04, 2020, 6:15 PM EST

People chanting, attempting to enter Detroit ballot processing center

A group of people arrived at the TCF center in Detroit on Wednesday, chanting and attempting to get inside, Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood from the Detroit Police Department told ABC News. 

The TCF Center in Detroit is the major ballot processing location in Detroit, where ballots are still being counted. ABC News has projected that Joe Biden will win Michigan. 

Detroit police escort a poll challenger out after he refused to leave, due to room capacity, at the TCF Center after election day in Detroit, Nov. 4, 2020.
Rebecca Cook/Reuters

For capacity reasons, only a certain number of people are allowed inside the center at once, Kirkwood said.  As of now, the challengers are being rotated in and out of the building-- as some exit, others will be allowed in. 

It is not clear exactly how many people are at the TCF Center, and it is not clear if they have any official capacity. Kirkwood said there are "no major concerns."

"Everything is manageable. There are people out there chanting, but that's about it," Kirkwood added.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

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