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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.

Top headlines:

Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 06, 2020, 12:16 PM EST

Pennsylvania 'late-arriving' ballots not currently part of count

Pennsylvania has not started counting late-arriving ballots postmarked by Nov. 3, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar initially confirmed Thursday.

That means Biden’s current lead over Trump does not include those ballots, which Republicans are seeking to challenge in the Supreme Court.

Officials in the state’s biggest counties -- Philadelphia, Allegheny and Montgomery -- all confirmed to ABC News that they have not started counting those ballots and have only segregated them and put them aside.

Allegheny and Montgomery officials said they have no plans to count them until 5 p.m. ET Friday at the earliest.

-ABC News' Eva Pilgrim, Benjamin Siegel, Adam Kelsey, Alex Hosenball, Lucien Bruggeman

Nov 06, 2020, 11:50 AM EST

Biden nearly doubles his Nevada lead

Biden nearly doubled his Nevada lead over Trump after more votes came in from Clark County, home to Las Vegas.

Biden is now up 22,076 votes over Trump. Before he was up 11,438 votes.

Supporters of President Donald Trump walk down the street after attending a news conference by the Trump campaign in front of the Clark County Election Department, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Las Vegas.
John Locher/AP

Biden leads 49.8% to Trump's 48.1% statewide.

Approximately 159,828 ballots are outstanding statewide, including about 139,678 in Clark County.

-ABC News' Meg Cunningham

Nov 06, 2020, 11:45 AM EST

Biden leading Georgia by 1,585 votes

Biden is now leading Georgia by 1,585 votes. 

Biden has 49.4% (2,450,152 votes) while Trump has 49.4% (2,448,567 votes)

Election observers sit in front of the media as vote counting in the general election continues at State Farm Arena on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in Atlanta.
Brynn Anderson/AP

"With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia," Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Friday.

There are no automatic recounts in Georgia. A candidate must request a recount and can only do so if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5% of the total votes in the race. 

There are about 4,000 outstanding ballots in four counties. Most of the outstanding ballots are in Gwinnett County, near Atlanta.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

Nov 06, 2020, 11:42 AM EST

Mark Kelly projected to win Arizona Senate race

Astronaut Mark Kelly is projected to win his Arizona Senate race against incumbent Republican Martha McSally.

Kelly will fill the seat once held by the late Sen. John McCain.

This was Kelly's first run for political office. He is married to former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords who became a champion for gun control after she survived an assassination attempt in 2011.

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