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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, 6:12 PM EST

Biden now leads Georgia by 4,182

In Georgia, Biden now leads by a margin of 4,182 votes after more than 7,000 votes came in from Gwinnett County, near Atlanta.

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

Biden has 2,455,802 votes (49.4%) while Trump has 2,451,620 votes (49.3%).

Georgia has 16 electoral votes.

There are approximately 26,500 ballots outstanding.

"The focus for our office and for the county election officials, for now, remains on making sure that every legal vote is counted and recorded accurately," Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Friday.

Gabriel Sterling from the secretary of state's office said at a news conference, "We will know the final universe of numbers by today."

-ABC News' Soorin Kim and Quinn Scanlan

Nov 06, 2020, 4:21 PM EST

CISA pushes back on claims of counterfeit ballots

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency pushed back on claims there were counterfeit ballots.

The agency, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, did not mention Trump by name.

"Local election offices have security and detection measures in place that make it highly difficult to commit fraud through counterfeit ballots," the agency said on its rumor control page. "While the specific measures vary, in accordance with state and local election laws and practices, ballot security measures can include signature matching, information checks, barcodes, watermarks, and precise paper weights."

In a subsequent tweet,  Director Chris Krebs said there was disinformation floating around that CISA printed ballots, which is untrue.

-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Nov 06, 2020, 3:04 PM EST

Trump campaign to tap Dave Bossie to lead legal efforts

The Trump campaign is expected to name adviser Dave Bossie to lead the campaign's legal efforts challenging the election results, sources confirmed to ABC News.
Bossie is the head of Citizens United -- a conservative nonprofit organization -- and was Trump's deputy campaign manager in 2016. 

The news was first reported by The New York Times

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders and John Santucci

Nov 06, 2020, 2:51 PM EST

Michigan judge denies Trump campaign effort to stop ballot count

Judge Cynthia Stephens issued a formal order Friday denying the Trump campaign's request to stop counting in Wayne County, Michigan, home to Detroit.

Counter-protesters debate a supporter of President Donald Trump during demonstrations outside of the TCF Center in downtown Detroit, Nov. 5, 2020.
Seth Herald/AFP via Getty Images

Stephens specifically cited the lack of evidence and detail provided by the campaign in the case.

"As stated on the record at the November 5, 2020 hearing, plaintiffs are not entitled to the extraordinary form of emergency relief they have requested," she wrote.

The suit tried to stop the vote count in based on allegations that the campaign was not given adequate access to observe the vote counting process. It was also seeking access to review any ballots that were opened which they were unable to witness.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin and Allison Pecorin

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