Published 19:27 IST, November 5th 2020
US Election 2020: Biden breaks Obama’s record, makes history with 70 million votes
While the key states are still tallying ballots, former vice president Joe Biden has broken the record for most votes received and has amassed over 70 million.
While the key states are still tallying ballots in the presidential race, former vice president Joe Biden has broken the record for most votes received and has amassed over 70 million. The record was held by former US President Barack Obama, who in the 2008 election received nearly 69,498,516 votes when he beat late Republican Senator John McCain. According to The New York Times, the Democratic nominee broke the record at 1:30pm EST on November 4.
The record-breaking, however, is no guarantee of victory. The winner of the 2020 presidential election race is decided not by popular vote, but rather the Electoral College vote. Back in 2016, Trump had lost the most popular vote to Hillary Clinton by almost three million votes but won the Electoral College and, as a result, the presidency. Back when George Washington was also elected in 1789 as the first US President, he reportedly received 43,782 of the popular votes, which was the 100 per cent of those cast.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press has projected Biden leading with 264 electoral votes with Trump at 214. However, thousands of votes are still not counted in Alaska, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada. Trump has accused the authorities of ‘secretly dumping ballots’ and falsely claimed victory in Michigan. The US President has repeatedly sown mistrust among Americans regarding the integrity of the states in counting the votes. Trump who has already termed the November 3 election as “embarrassment” and “major fraud”, has sued Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia while demanding a recount in Wisconsin.
Protests across US
Amid the election, protests have broken out in several other states, including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Washington and DC. Thousands of Biden demonstrators flooded the streets of New York against the Trump supporters that decried election fraud as they protested in the key state of Michigan. MAGA supporters, on the other hand, mobilized across different cities as they started hashtag #StopTheSteal on social media and assembled near Detroit’s downtown TCF convention centre as guards attempted to block them at the door so the counting could continue. According to reports, several protesters have also been arrested. Around ten demonstrators in Portland and nearly 50 in NY have been detained.
The protesters came out to the rally because they wanted to ensure their children have a good future and to make sure all American have their voices counted. Boston’s even was one of the hundreds slated to happen nation-wide organised by Protect the Results, a coalition of groups formed to protect the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Updated 19:25 IST, November 5th 2020