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:
Trump campaign announces suit in Michigan to halt counting
The Trump campaign announced that it filed a lawsuit in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt ballot counting.
Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien said that the "campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law."
They are also demanding a review of ballots that were opened and counted because of their claim that they did not have meaningful access.
The announcement comes after Stepien said earlier in a press call that they were confident in a pathway to victory that includes Michigan, but that Republican counties still need to be counted.
-ABC News' Terrance Smith
Trump falsely accuses Michigan of having ‘found the ballots’ to hurt John James
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, the president baselessly accused Michigan of having “found the ballots” to keep Republican candidate John James from winning a Senate seat.
His tweet marks another false accusation from the president in an attempt to delegitimize ballots that still need to be counted. The state is still counting ballots and most are outstanding from Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Trump campaign promises recount in Wisconsin
The Trump campaign will request a recount in "razor thin" Wisconsin, campaign manager Bill Stepien said.
Without providing evidence, Stepien claimed "there have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of the results."
In Wisconsin, you can request a recount if you’re within one percentage point in Wisconsin. Right now, the margin is .7% -- about 20,000 votes.
At this time Biden is leading Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin.
A recount is unlikely to yield major changes.
Scott Walker, a former Republican Wisconsin governor and Trump ally, tweeted that he thinks 20,000 votes is a "high hurdle" for the president to overcome. "After recount in 2011 race for WI Supreme Court, there was a swing of 300 votes. After recount in 2016 Presidential race in WI, (Trump's) numbers went up by 131," he tweeted.
-ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein, Benjamin Siegel and Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer
Biden campaign manager sends fundraising email for new 'fight fund'
Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillion launched a new “fight fund” in a fundraising email following Trump’s remarks on election night.
“The President threatened to go to court to prevent the proper tabulation of votes. We are standing up the biggest and most comprehensive legal effort ever assembled. This work could stretch on for weeks, so I am coming to you to ask you to pitch $25 in to the newly-formed Biden Fight Fund,” she wrote.“The Biden Fight Fund will fund election protection efforts for Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. If he makes good on this threat, our legal team is standing by. And they will prevail.”
-ABC News' Molly Nagle