Biden fractures foot after fall, will likely be in walking boot 'for several weeks'

Donald Trump responded to Joe Biden's ascertainment on Twitter Monday evening by first thanking his General Services Administration appointee Emily Murphy for her service and, in a direct contraction of her letter, which said there was no political influence behind her decision, took credit for telling Murphy to move forward with the process. 

"I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country," Trump tweeted, adding that his case "STRONGLY continues." However, Trump hasn't been able to substantiate any claims of voter fraud -- at least 30 lawsuits from Trump and his allies have ended in court losses.

"Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same," Trump said in a tweet. 

Biden transition official Yohannes Abraham also reacted to the news, calling the decision "a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Jordyn Phelps

ABC News can report that the General Services Administration has informed the Biden camp that he has been determined to be the apparent winner of the election.

The move allows the president-elect's transition team access to government resources and comes after Biden warned that American lives may be at risk without a formal transition.

Emily Murphy, head of the General Services Administration, a 2017 Trump appointee, sent Biden a letter Monday afternoon telling him his transition could begin. She also defended her position as she's come under fire from Democrats in recent weeks for delaying the process.

"I have dedicated much of my adult life to public service, and I have always strived to do what is right. Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official—including those who work at the White House or GSA—with regard to the substance or timing of my decision," she said in the letter to Biden.

A transition official for Biden confirmed to ABC News he has received the letter.

After more than three hours, Michigan's state canvassing board interrupted an at-times contentious session of public comments in order to vote to certify the election. 

Before the four board members voted, the meeting opened for public comments, which included testimonials from state and city election officials, attorneys, poll workers, clerks and volunteers. Aaron Van Langevelde, the key vote for certification and the Republican vice chair of the board, asked one former state elections director, who is considered an elections expert, about the bounds of the board's power in an early and telling exchange.

"I mean, we're not a court here, we don't have judicial power. We don't have the authority to conduct a trial here on whether or not election fraud occurred. Am I correct?" Van Langevelde asked. Thomas replied, "You are correct."

In his own exchange with Thomas, Norm Shinkle, the Republican canvasser who voted to abstain, was rebuffed when he asked under what circumstances could the board delay certification -- a question that tipped his hand.

"You can't vote no. There is no 'no' in this circumstance. Each of you play a necessary role. You're at the pinnacle of Michigan's democracy," Thomas said. "Everyone doesn't get a trophy."

A slate of clerks and election workers from across the state also pushed the board to certify the results throughout the three hours, arguing that any vote other than "yes" would defy the will of the voters. 

"The time for political games as over the eyes of our nation are on the four of you today. They're watching, and they're waiting," argued Barb Byrum, the Ingham County clerk. "Failure to certify these election results will signal to the country that democracy is dying in Michigan."

The state now moves forward with formalizing the election results, and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will certify the slate of 16 electors for Biden. A post-election audit is also planned by the secretary of state. 

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

Georgia's voting system implementation manager Gabriel Sterling held an afternoon press conference on Zoom to update reporters on the Trump campaign-requested machine recount. He said he had just wrapped an approximately hourlong meeting with the counties that went over the process. 

Counties cannot begin the recount until 9 a.m. Tuesday. They must complete the recount by midnight on Dec. 2.

Sterling said this deadline accounts for Thanksgiving and that several counties, including three of the biggest, Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties, have an election on Dec. 1. He said some counties will likely need to work through the weekend. 

Sterling's advice to the counties as they undertake a third  count of the approximately 5 million votes cast in the presidential election was, "slow is smooth, smooth is fast."

"You don't want to rush yourself and cause mistakes and errors that you have to go back and fix, so slow is smooth, smooth is fast because the smoother you do this, the better off you're going to be," he said.

Counties are required to post notice of when they are doing the actual machine re-tabulation on their websites, on their respective election office and by notifying the secretary of state's office. 

Sterling made the important point that while parties are allowed to designate monitors to observe the recount, "ballots cannot be contested in this process."

While doing the recount, counties will need to keep ballots separated by type: absentee by mail ballots, early in person ballots, election day ballots and provisional ballots. Unlike the audit, counties can release results while the recount is still ongoing statewide. 

Asked again if they expect the outcome of the election -- that Joe Biden is the winner -- to change, Sterling said that's not their expectation. 

"Now, the possibility of it changing, you know, it's 2020, you never know," he said. "Crazy things happen but the likelihood is very low. We don't expect it to change, but you never know for certain."

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan