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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 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.

Nov 06, 2020, 10:20 AM EST

Trump campaign: 'This election is not over'

As Biden takes the lead in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, the Trump campaign issued a defiant statement making it clear that the president is not ready to concede.

"This election is not over," Matt Morgan, the Trump 2020 campaign general counsel, said in a statement Friday.

Morgan blasted what he called the "false projection of Joe Biden as the winner," which he said was "based on results in four states that are far from final."

Morgan also claimed that "Georgia is headed for a recount," alleging -- without evidence -- that "we will find ballots improperly harvested."

A Trump supporter wears a t-shirt depicting the president as Captain America during a protest in Miami, Nov. 5, 2020.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Morgan claimed there were "many irregularities in Pennsylvania," but only provided one example of volunteer legal observers not "having meaningful access to vote counting locations."

Morgan also said "there appear to be thousands of individuals who improperly cast mail ballots" in Nevada -- a baseless claim for which the Trump campaign has provided no evidence.

"Biden is relying on these states for his phony claim on the White House," Morgan said, "but once the election is final, President Trump will be re-elected."

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Nov 06, 2020, 9:00 AM EST

Biden pulls ahead in Pennsylvania

Biden has pulled ahead in Pennsylvania, overtaking Trump's lead.

As of 8:50 a.m. ET Friday, Biden has 3,295,304 votes in the Keystone State -- 49.4% -- while Trump has 3,289,717 -- 49.3% -- with 95% of the expected vote reporting. That's a difference of 5,587 votes.

There are roughly 135,000 ballots left to be counted, according to the latest data from the Pennsylvania Department of State. State law mandates an automatic recount if the final margin is .5% or less of total votes cast.

Children and adults take part in a display of the "Count Every Vote" slogan during a Count Every Vote demonstration at the Pennsylvania State Capitol on Nov. 5, 2020 in Harrisburg, Penn.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Trump flipped the blue state red on his path to the White House in 2016. He won Pennsylvania's 20 Electoral College votes, defeating Hillary Clinton there by 44,292 ballots.

Before that year, Pennsylvania had voted for Democratic presidential candidates in six consecutive elections.

-ABC News' Adam Kelsey

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