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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50,000-60,000 ballots left to be counted in Georgia, secretary of state says
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV on Thursday morning that there are 50,000 to 60,000 ballots left to be counted statewide.
Earlier, Raffensperger had said there were under 25,000 outstanding votes and that they would be counted by Thursday afternoon. With the revised figure, it's unclear if that timeline has changed and, if so, by how much.
Trump currently has 49.6% of the vote in Georgia, while Biden has 49.2%.
The outstanding votes include mail-in ballots from population-dense counties in the Atlanta metro region, which lean Democratic. Biden is outperforming Hillary Clinton's 2016 showing in those counties, including in the more upscale suburban reaches.
A Democratic presidential candidate has not won the battleground state since 1992.
Trump's lead in Georgia shrinks to just 18,540 votes
The margin between Trump and Biden in Georgia shrunk even more Thursday morning as thousands of additional votes were counted in Fulton County, the state's most populous county, which continues to process and tabulate ballots.
Trump now holds onto his lead in Georgia by just 18,540 votes. He has 49.6% of the vote -- 2,431,724 -- while Biden has 49.2% -- 2,413,184.
There are about 7,500 votes left to be counted in Fulton County. It's unclear how many remain outstanding statewide.
Military votes and overseas ballots must be received by Friday to be counted in Georgia's race, while provisional ballots must also be processed by Friday.
There are no mandatory or automatic recounts in the Peach State. A candidate may request a recount if they lose by less than 0.5% of total votes cast in the race. The deadline to request a recount is two business days after statewide election results are certified.
-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan
Biden continues to hold lead in Arizona's Maricopa County
Election officials in Arizona's Maricopa County said early Thursday morning that they have an estimated 275,000 more ballots to process and tabulate.
With 86% of the expected vote reporting, Biden continues to lead in Maricopa County -- 51.4% to Trump's 47.2%. The county is Arizona's most populous and the fourth-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Phoenix, the capital of Arizona and one of the largest cities in the country by population.
Biden also holds an edge over Trump statewide, with 1,469,341 votes against Trump's 1,400,951 -- 50.5% to 48.1%. About 86% of the expected absentee vote and 86% of the expected vote overall are in.
In the Senate race, Democratic challenger Mark Kelly still leads incumbent Republican Sen. Martha McSally 52% to 48%. Kelly is currently outpacing Biden's vote statewide at 1,504,460 votes.
-ABC News' Meg Cunningham
8 arrested, riot declared in Portland protests; over 20 arrested in New York City
Protests over the election turned violent in multiple cities across the country Wednesday night.
In Portland, Oregon, a riot was declared and the National Guard was activated due to violence downtown. At least eight people have been arrested, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
In New York City, skirmishes broke out between police and protesters in Greenwich Village. The NYPD said more than 20 people were arrested in the violence.
"We appreciate and value the importance of freedom of speech. Our top priority is and always will be safety," the department said in a tweet. "We have arrested more than 20 individuals who attempted to hijack a peaceful protest by lighting fires, throwing garbage and eggs in Manhattan."
Protesters across the country called for officials to count every vote as President Donald Trump baselessly claimed current vote counts were fraudulent and filed lawsuits in several states to challenge vote totals.