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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.

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Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 09, 2020, 12:32 AM EST

Biden won -- pretty convincingly in the end: ANALYSIS

Even if you knew in advance about the "blue shift" that would occur in states like Pennsylvania -- and FiveThirtyEight did know in advance about it! -- it’s been hard to make enough of a mental adjustment for it this week.

Numbers flashing across a TV ticker have a certain magnetic power and certitude to them. It was easy to forget that Joe Biden would gain ground once mail votes were added to the tallies because such votes were overwhelmingly Democratic this year in Pennsylvania and most other states.

But just because of that blue shift -- and the red shift that occurred in states where mail votes were counted first -- that doesn’t mean the presidential race was all that close in the end. Joe Biden’s win was on the tighter side of the likely range of outcomes suggested by the polls, but it was a thoroughly convincing one judged on its own merits.

-FiveThirtyEight editor in chief Nate Silver

Read the full analysis here.

Nov 08, 2020, 8:55 PM EST

Trump surrogates continue to allege fraud in Nevada

Two Donald Trump associates held a news conference in Las Vegas alleging voter fraud in the state, but they provided little proof and didn't announce any legal actions.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt and American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp spoke outside the Clark County Election Department, providing a number of anecdotal stories of voter fraud.

Among the unverified allegations were repeated complaints about the machine used to verify voter signatures and charges that Republicans were denied the right to vote.

Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt speaks during a news conference outside of the Clark County Election Department, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in North Las Vegas.
John Locher/AP

The pair also claimed that hundreds of dead people voted in Clark County.

Laxalt and Schlapp said they had no legal action to announce at the briefing.

Two days ago, a Clark County judge denied a request by the GOP to halt the use of the signature verification machines, saying the devices were lawful and that observers were watching the count. The judge also criticized GOP representatives for not providing any evidence of wrongdoing.

-ABC News' Michelle Mendez, Matthew Fuhrman and Cheyenne Haslett

Nov 08, 2020, 8:36 PM EST

Vote count continues in several states

The election count is continuing in several states. Here is a breakdown, including the percentage of expected vote that has been counted in each state.

Georgia (99% EV in)
Biden: 2,465,781 (49.5%)
Trump: 2,455,428 (49.3%)
Biden's edge: +10,353 votes

Based on ABC News' reporting, there are approximately 14,200 ballots still to be counted, including overseas/military and provisional ballots plus any other outstanding absentee ballots that were cured by the deadline.

Arizona (97% EV in)
Biden: 1,633,181 (49.5%)
Trump: 1,613,833 (48.9%)
Biden's edge: +19,348

There are about 99,399 ballots left to tabulate, 44,668 of which are provisional ballots.

North Carolina (98% EV in)
Biden 2,658,274 (48.6%)
Trump: 2,733,681 (50.0%)
Trump's edge: +75,407

Approximately 95,000 voters who requested an absentee ballot have not yet returned theirs before the state's Nov. 12 deadline. This number does not yet account for voters who requested an absentee ballot but voted in person on Election Day instead.

Nov 08, 2020, 4:06 PM EST

Trump golfed on Sunday

The president was back Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Trump was also there on Saturday when ABC News characterized Biden as the apparent winner in Pennsylvania, giving the former vice president the electoral votes he needs to capture the presidency.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to supporters as he departs after playing golf at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling Va.,  Nov. 8, 2020.
President Donald Trump gives two thumbs up to supporters as he departs after playing golf at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling Va., Nov. 8, 2020.
Steve Helber/AP
PHOTO:A woman holds up a sign that reads "A Time To Heal America" as the motorcade of President Donald Trump passes on the way to the Trump International Gold club in Sterling, Va. on Nov. 8, 2020.
A woman holds up a sign that reads "A Time To Heal America" as the motorcade of President Donald Trump passes on the way to the Trump International Golf club in Sterling, Va. on Nov. 8, 2020.
Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump walks to his motorcade on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 8, 2020.
Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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