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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, 10:59 PM EST

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar says counting 'ahead of schedule'

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos they are "ahead of schedule" and the state has under 1 million ballots left to count.

"We're actually ahead of schedule of where I thought we'd be," she said. "So I've been saying that I thought the overwhelming majority of ballots would be counted by Friday. I now believe that the overwhelming majority of ballots will be counted by tomorrow."

Boockvar also said that she thought legal action from Trump would not make a difference in the election results.

"What we care about here is making sure that every qualified voter -- that their vote counts, that their voices get heard and we want to make sure no voter is disenfranchised when they're a qualified voter," she said. "So we're going to count every vote and, hey, that's what makes our democracy great."

Nov 04, 2020, 10:45 PM EST

Macomb County GOP called for supporters to visit vote processing center before skirmish

Before the chaotic protests at a processing facility in Detroit, where poll workers were tallying votes, the Macomb County GOP encouraged supporters on Wednesday morning to stop by the TCF Center in Detroit, urging "all hands on deck!"

"Trained Poll Challengers and or Volunteers willing to be trained needed immediately at TCF Center (Cobo Hall)," the email, which was obtained by ABC News, reads.

Supporters of President Donald Trump try to enter the room where absentee ballots for the 2020 general election are being counted at TCF Center in Detroit, Nov. 4, 2020.
Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

The email makes the baseless claim that "questionable" ballots came in at 3 a.m. Wednesday.

ABC News reached out to the Macomb County Republican Party, but has not heard back.

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

Nov 04, 2020, 10:31 PM EST

Outstanding vote in Ga. from Democrat-leaning counties

According to a Georgia elections official, all of the outstanding vote in Georgia is from Democrat-leaning counties and Biden needs to win 64% of it to overtake Trump.

Right now, Trump has 2,426,104 votes and Biden 2,392,804 votes. 

Election workers count Fulton County ballots at State Farm Arena on Nov. 4, 2020, in Atlanta.
Jessica Mcgowan/Getty Images

According to a press release from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, as of 10:15 p.m., there are approximately 90,735 ballots still outstanding.

Trump is currently up by 33,300 votes.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

Nov 04, 2020, 10:01 PM EST

Trump appears to make up some ground in Arizona

Biden still leads statewide, but in Maricopa County, Arizona, his margin is smaller.

At 9 p.m., Biden was leading Trump 51% - 48% statewide with 1,444,213 votes to the president’s 1,365,040. So far, 86% of the expected absentee vote was in, with 86% overall expected vote in as well.

Maricopa County elections officials and observers watch as ballots are tallied, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, at the Maricopa County Recorders Office in Phoenix.
Matt York/AP

Arizona's most populous county had about 400,000 votes to process and their most updated release indicated 338,000 are remaining. County officials said they're expecting to release more information at 12:30 a.m. ET/ 10:30 p.m. MT.

In the Senate race, Democrat Mark Kelly still led Sen. Martha McSally 52%-48%. This has narrowed since an earlier update where he led 53%-47%. ABC News has not made a projection this race.

-ABC News’ Meg Cunningham, Allison Pecorin and Jenna Harrison

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