Joe Biden Wins The U.S. Presidential Election, Kamala Harris Becomes First Woman Vice President
After much chaos, misinformation from social media sources, and protests against counting all votes for this world-changing election, the results are finally in: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. won the 2020 United States Presidential Election against former president Donald J. Trump.
With him, Kamala Harris, becomes the new Vice President of the United States, making her the first woman, and the first woman of color to serve as the Vice President of the United States.
A Historic Election On Many Fronts
The results have come following three days of carefully making sure each vote was counted. According to the Associated Press it was Pennsylvania, Joe Biden’s home state, that put him over the top to receive a total of 284 electoral votes. In order to become the President, a candidate must receive at least 270 votes from the electoral college. This election has brought about many historic moments and numbers.
This election is about so much more than @JoeBiden or me. It’s about the soul of America and our willingness to fight for it. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Let’s get started.pic.twitter.com/Bb9JZpggLN
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
1. Voter Turnout Is Higher Than It Has Been In Over a Century
This election’s voter turnout has broken a 120-year record for the most eligible voters to vote for president, with over 140,000 million votes (more than 1/3 the population of the United States).
As part of that turnout, we’ve seen the most ballots ever counted for a presidential election in the United States and a new record for casting the most early votes in history, with over 101 million pre-election ballots cast prior to election day.
This massive turnout has also resulted in President Biden garnering more votes than Obama did in 2008 with 74 million votes cast for Biden, setting the new record for the most votes of all time for a presidential candidate.
2. Many New Firsts For Women, POC, And The LGBTQIA+ Community
This year, many wins for the state legislature, United States Congress, and senators have given us a number of firsts.
- Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender state senator.
- Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones became the first openly gay Black men elected to Congress.
- Vermont elected Taylor Small as the first openly transgender state legislator.
- Stephanie Byers became Kansas’ first openly transgender elected official.
- Cori Bush became the first Black woman from Missouri to be elected to Congress.
- Michele Rayner-Goolsby became the first Black, openly queer woman elected to Florida’s legislature.
- Iman Jodeh became the first Muslim lawmaker in Colorado’s history, being elected to the state’s House of Representatives.
- Kim Jackson became Georgia’s first openly LGBTQ state senator.
- Jabari Brisport won the election for State Senate, becoming the first Black openly gay member of the legislature.
- Wyoming elected its first female senator, Cynthia Lummis.
3. Age Records Have Been Set
While not as significant as many of the other records set this year, there have been two age-related victories.
First, President Biden is now the oldest person to win the office, at 77-years-old. Secondly, 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn became the youngest person elected to Congress.
4. New Laws Reverse Notoriously Racist Policies
Finally, at the state level, Oregon became a forerunner in the illegal drug possession decriminalization. The state voted to decriminalize possession of small quantities of drugs that are otherwise illegal. Heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine possession in any amount previously have resulted in prison or jail time, but not minor possession offenses in the state will no longer put people behind bars.
