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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Clark County Clerk concerned about safety of staff
In Clark County, Nevada, county registrar Joe Gloria said the tightening race is leaving him "concerned for the safety of my staff."
There have been some protests outside the building.
"My wife and my mother are very concerned for me, but we have security here," Gloria said. "We have law enforcement who are protecting us. I am concerned for the safety of my staff. We're putting measures into place to make sure that we have the security that's necessary."
"We're going to be okay. We're going to continue to count. We will not allow anyone to stop us from doing what our duty is: counting ballots," he said.
-ABC News' Meg Cunningham
Nevada's Clark County to release results from 51,000 votes on Friday
In Nevada, the gap between Biden and Trump remains at 11,438 votes. Biden has 604,251 while Trump has 592,813.
Clark County, home to Las Vegas, will release results from 51,000 votes on Friday, said Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria. So far, Clark County mail-in results have been favoring Biden.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Pennsylvania expects majority of votes counted by end of day
Pennsylvania expected to have the "majority" of the remaining votes counted by Thursday night, the state's attorney general's office told ABC News.
-ABC News' Eva Pilgrim
Judge says she will deny Trump campaign effort to stop ballot count in Michigan
A judge in Michigan said Thursday afternoon she would deny a plea from the Trump campaign to stop the processing and counting of absentee ballots in the state, mainly citing the fact that the counting is already largely done.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin and Olivia Rubin