2020 Election Resaults

By: Jaskaran Bajwa

I’m sure everyone has heard at this point, but the American people have elected a new presidential ticket into the White House. Former Vice President Joseph Biden and Junior Senator from California Kamala Harris have been elected as the new President and Vice President of the United States of America. This victory comes after a contentious election, and as I write this, the sitting President Donald Trump has yet to concede. Donald Trump alleges that there has been widespread voter fraud that is “Unthinkable and illegal in this country…”

This behavior is highly unusual as past sitting presidents have conceded as soon as the election was called. President Trump has been using Twitter to voice his “concerns” about the alleged voting fraud. The GOP or Republican party has tried to file lawsuits in many key states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, to contest the results. While Trump and the GOP will likely continue to file lawsuits, they will likely not change the result. The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Secretary of State to stop ratification of the results, according to The Hill.

The filing of lawsuits has not stopped President-Elect Joe Biden from accepting his victory. He made his acceptance speech from his home state of Delaware. His speech in stark contrast to the tone of President Trump. He spoke of a united future and a potential way to unite America, which in recent years has become deeply divided.

While Donald Trump may not recognize the results of the election, the leaders of the world have already congratulated him and Vice President-Elect Harris. Presidents and Prime Ministers of the world have sent their congratulations to President Biden. To name a few: Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Treaude, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and many more. This comes as a shock as President Trump has not conceded just yet. This could be why President Trump is disliked among world leaders, or more likely just a simple congratulations.

Some of Trump’s party have spoken out against the President’s actions. Utah Senator Mitt Romney has stated, “When you say that the election was corrupt or stolen or rigged, that's, unfortunately, rhetoric that gets picked up by authoritarians around the world…” according to NBC. These words come at a time when Attorney General Barr has allowed prosecutors to investigate alleged cases of voter fraud.

While the topic of the election and voter fraud will likely continue for the next four years, it is important to look at the future. In Congress, Democrats faced unfavorable results. Their majority in the House of Representatives has shrunk, and they only saw one net gain in the senate. Going into the race, there was confidence that the Senate would flip, but key races in South Carolina, Maine, Montana, and North Carolina did not turn out as hoped. These results put a barrier in the path of the next Biden administration to confirm judges and pass legislation, but there is hope. In Georgia, there is a runoff election scheduled for both their senate seats, and judging from the election results there is a chance they may flip.

In seeing the results many look for a reason as to why the Democrats are narrowly holding on to their majority. Many such as New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez or “AOC” have blamed the democratic leadership. She states that the party lacked, “ core competencies…” according to The Guardian. Many also have accused the far-left of the Democratic Party of spreading fears of “socialism”.

While the politics are all over the place, it is a time to celebrate the election of a new President and the first Female, South Asian, and African-American Vice-President. As of right now, the future is still unclear.