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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, 7:45 PM EST

Trump campaign files 3rd lawsuit

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia Wednesday night -- its third of the day

This suit, filed in Chatham County, home to Savannah, alongside the Georgia Republican Party, is seeking to order the county to compile, store and account for all ballots received after 7 p.m. on Election Day, the receipt deadline.

The suit alleges that the county may be mishandling ballots, and therefore inadvertently mixing up ballots that arrived on time with ones that arrived late.

This suit is based on a single allegation from an out-of-state Republican poll observer that involves less than 60 ballots.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin

Nov 04, 2020, 7:39 PM EST

Protesters in several cities call for counting every vote

Protesters have gathered in cities across the country including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., Wednesday night to call for counting all of the votes cast in this election.

Protesters take to the streets as results of the presidential election remain uncertain on Nov. 4, 2020, in New York.
David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Young activists and Democratic party candidate supporters gather and dance on Black Lives Matter Plaza just outside of the White House on Nov. 4, 2020, in Washington.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

People hold signs as they take part in a rally demanding a fair count of the votes of the 2020 presidential election, in Philadelphia, Nov. 4, 2020.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

People gather to protest President Donald Trump's threat to contest the election results during a "Count every vote" rally in Boston, Nov. 4, 2020.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Nov 04, 2020, 7:26 PM EST

Nevada not expecting new results Wednesday

A spokesperson for the Nevada secretary of state told ABC News that there are no new results expected to be released for the state Wednesday night. 

Results expected Thursday morning will likely paint a more complete picture of the standings in the Silver State, which has Biden up by about 8,000 votes with 86% of the expected count in.

Nevada’s largest county does not expect to have information on how many mail-in ballots have yet to be counted there, Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, but the sought-after tally will likely bring good news for Biden where in-person turnout in was strong among Republicans and mail-in vote counts have been stronger for Democrats.

A protester interrupts a news conference by Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria discussing ballot counting at the Clark County Election Department on Nov. 4, 2020, in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett and Meg Cunningham

Nov 04, 2020, 7:08 PM EST

Pa. governor says he'll 'fight like hell' to continue counting votes

After the Trump campaign filed a petition with the Supreme Court to halt the counting of ballots in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf held a news conference to respond, saying they will continue to count ballots in the state.

"This afternoon, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit to stop the counting of ballots in Pennsylvania. That is simply wrong," Wolf said. "These attempts to subvert the democratic process are simply disgraceful."

Wolf, a Democrat who has faced heavy criticism from Trump, went on to say, "I'm going to fight like hell to protect the vote of every Pennsylvanian."

While the Trump campaign argues in the Supreme Court filing it wasn't given "meaningful access … to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process," Wolf argued the state election process has "never been more transparent than it is right now."

A commonwealth court scheduled an initial hearing for the filing for 7 p.m.

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said Trump's strategy "seems to be to basically create doubt about the integrity of the election itself, which seems to be reflection that he believes that if all the counting goes on to conclusion, he will not emerge in the lead."

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