Electoral College confirms Biden's victory over Trump

Democrat Joe Biden on Monday won the state-by-state Electoral College vote that formally determines the US presidency, all but ending President Donald Trump's floundering campaign to overturn his loss in the November 3 election.

California, the most populous state, delivered its 55 electoral votes to Biden on Monday afternoon, officially putting the former vice president over the 270 votes needed to secure the White House. Based on November's results, Biden earned 306 Electoral College votes to the Republican Trump's 232.

I’m forever humbled by the fact that 5.7 million people chipped in to power our campaign to victory. And to thank everyone, we’re hosting a Grassroots Donor Thank You call tonight. Head to https://t.co/c4wtQjE6hU to join us.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 14, 2020

Earlier in the day, electors in several major battleground states where Trump has unsuccessfully sought to reverse the outcome - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - also voted for Biden, who is set to take office on Jan. 20 alongside running mate Kamala Harris.

Traditionally a formality, the Electoral College vote - set for Monday by federal law - assumed outsized significance because of Trump's unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud.

I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office.

But while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. pic.twitter.com/th9qebu9ka

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 14, 2020

Biden planned a prime-time address at 7:30pm ET on Monday (0030 GMT on Tuesday) to mark the occasion and call on Americans to "turn the page" on the Trump era.

"The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago," he was expected to say, according to excerpts released by his transition team. "And we now know that nothing — not even a pandemic — or an abuse of power — can extinguish that flame.

"In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed."

Also Read - US Attorney General Barr steps down as Trump election defeat confirmed

There was next to no chance that Monday's voting would negate Biden's victory and, with Trump's legal campaign to reverse the results failing, the president's dim hopes of clinging to power rest with persuading Congress not to accept Monday's electoral vote during a January 6 special session - an effort that is virtually certain to fail.

Once in office, Biden faces the challenging task of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, reviving the US economy and rebuilding relations frayed with US allies abroad by Trump's "America First" policies.

Threats of violence

In Arizona, at the beginning of the electors' meeting there, the state's Democratic secretary of state, Katie Hobbs, said Trump's claims of fraud had "led to threats of violence against me, my office, and those in this room today," echoing similar reports of threats and intimidation in other states.

"While there will be those who are upset their candidate didn't win, it is patently un-American and unacceptable that today's event should be anything less than an honored tradition held with pride and in celebration," Hobbs said.

Tomorrow is the last day of open enrollment for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for 2021.

Visit https://t.co/6ylFIJBEoY to #GetCovered! pic.twitter.com/hvOlX7XEoD

— Biden-Harris Presidential Transition (@Transition46) December 14, 2020

A group of Trump supporters called on Facebook for protests all day on Monday outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, one of the hardest-fought states where Trump lost.

But by early afternoon only a handful had gathered, including Bob Ray, 66, a retired construction worker. He held a sign that read: "order a forensic audit," "save America" and "stop communism."

Under a complicated system dating back to the 1780s, a candidate becomes U.S. president not by winning a majority of the popular vote but through the Electoral College system, which allots electoral votes to the 50 states and the District of Columbia largely based on the size of their population.

(Here's a graphic on how the Electoral College works: https://tmsnrt.rs/3lUKcgv)

Electors are typically party loyalists who represent the winning candidate in their state, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, which allocate some of their Electoral College votes based on which candidate won each of the states' congressional districts.

Never forget that on bizarre tiny desk night Trump said he would leave office if the Electoral College voted for Joe Biden.

That happened today...pic.twitter.com/TwgNNhnk0q

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 14, 2020

While there are sometimes a handful of "rogue" electors who vote for someone other than the winner of their state's popular vote, the vast majority rubber-stamp the results.

Also Read- 'Democracy prevailed,' Biden says after US Electoral College confirms his win

Trump said late last month he would leave the White House if the Electoral College voted for Biden, but has since pressed on with his unprecedented campaign to overturn his defeat. On Monday, he repeated a series of unsupported claims of electoral fraud.

"Swing States that have found massive VOTER FRAUD, which is all of them, CANNOT LEGALLY CERTIFY these votes as complete & correct without committing a severely punishable crime," he wrote on Twitter.

Trump's gambit

Trump had called on Republican state legislators to appoint their own electors, essentially ignoring the will of the voters, but lawmakers largely dismissed the idea.

"I fought hard for President Trump. Nobody wanted him to win more than me," Lee Chatfield, Republican speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said in a statement. "But I love our republic, too. I can't fathom risking our norms, traditions and institutions to pass a resolution retroactively changing the electors for Trump."

Dear @realDonaldTrump

That BS with timing Barr's announcement with Biden's formal victory in the Electoral college doesn't change anything.

You lost.

You were a awful one term President.

History will record your corruption & gross failures.

There is no spinning any of this.

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) December 14, 2020

Once the Electoral College vote is complete, Trump's sole remaining gambit would be to persuade Congress not to certify the count on January 6.

Any attempt to block a state's results, and thus change the overall US tally, must earn majority approval from both chambers of Congress that day. Democrats control the House of Representatives, while enough Republicans in the Senate have acknowledged Biden's victory to ensure any challenge would likely fail.

In 2016, Trump won the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. The formal vote earned extra attention when some Democratic activists called for electors to "go rogue" against Trump. In the end, seven electors broke ranks, an unusually high number but still far too few to sway the outcome.