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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 07, 2020, 8:45 PM EST

'Joe is a healer, a uniter, a tested and steady hand'

"You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth," she said eliciting cheers, applause and honking horns. "You chose Joe Biden as the next president of the United States of America. And Joe is a healer, a uniter, a tested and steady hand. A person whose own experience of loss gives him a sense of purpose that will help us as a nation reclaim our own sense of purpose. And a man with a big heart who loves with abandon. It's his love for Jill, who will be an incredible first lady."

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addresses the nation from the Chase Center, Nov. 07, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

"It's his love for Hunter and Ashley and his grandchildren and the entire Biden family. And while I first knew Joe as vice president, I really got to know him as the father who loved Beau, my dear friend who we remember here today," she continued.

Nov 07, 2020, 8:43 PM EST

Kamala Harris takes to the stage as 1st female vice president-elect

For the first time in its nearly 250-year history, the U.S. will have a woman vice president. The moment was not lost on Kamala Harris as she spoke Saturday night, taking the stage to "Work That" by Mary J. Blige, hours after ABC declared Joe Biden the apparent 46th president.

"What a testament it is to Joe's character that he had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his vice president," she said.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris arrives to speak Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
Andrew Harnik/AP

Harris cited her victory on the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, giving some women the right to vote.

Biden had promised to choose a woman as his vice president candidate in the run-up to Harris' selection. After interviewing a number of candidates -- including former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice, Florida Rep. Val Demings and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer -- he chose Harris on Aug. 11.

Supporters arrive to attend an event with President-elect Joe Biden, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
Andrew Harnik/AP

"But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said. "Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities and to the children of our country regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they've never seen it before."

Harris was only the third major ticket vice presidential candidate following Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008.

Nov 07, 2020, 8:36 PM EST

Kamala Harris opens rally for new President-elect Biden

Kamala Harris took the stage in Wilmington, Delaware, with a message from the late lion of the Democratic Party.

"Congressman John Lewis before his passing wrote 'Democracy is not a state, it is an act.' And what he meant was that America's democracy is not guaranteed," she said. "It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it."

Harris did not mention current President Donald Trump, but said the democracy itself was on the ballot, as huge signs reading "The People Have Chosen Empathy."

"And when our very democracy was on the ballot in this election with the very soul of America at stake and the world watching, you ushered in a new day for America," she continued.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris speaks at the site of their election rally, after the news media announced that former Vice President Joe Biden has won the presidential election, in Wilmington, Del., Nov. 7, 2020.
Jim Bourg/Reuters

Harris took to the stage at 8:30 p.m. and thanked poll workers for counting votes, as well as organizers in the field. She also thanked her husband, Doug, and Joe Biden for choosing her as his running mate.

She left her biggest thanks for her mother, who came from India and followed the American dream.

Nov 07, 2020, 8:06 PM EST

Ga. secretary of state says Fulton County had 'issue involving reporting their work' Friday

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger posted on Facebook that Fulton County, the state's largest, "discovered an issue involving reporting from their work on Friday."

The updated vote from Fulton County on Friday night took Biden from an approximate 4,000-vote lead to an approximate 7,000-vote lead. Roughly 5,000 votes were uploaded from the county. The statement from Raffensperger did not specify what the issue was. 

"Officials are at State Farm Arena to rescan their work from Friday. The Secretary of State has a monitor onsite, has sent additional investigators, and dispatched the Deputy Secretary of State as well to oversee the process to make sure to thoroughly secure the vote and protect all legal votes. Observers from both political parties are there as well," Raffensperger said in the statement. 

ABC News obtained a statement from Fulton County that said after Director of Elections & Registration Rick Barron asked staff to review Friday night's reporting to ensure all provisional ballots were reflected in the reported results, Barron learned that "some ballots were not captured" and "a smaller number (sic) were not scanned."

"Out of an abundance of caution, all provisional, military and UOCAVA allots scanned on Friday, November 6 will be rescanned tonight. The upload made last night will be pulled and replaced with tonight’s rescanned file," the statement continued.- Quinn Scanlan

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