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.
Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 05, 2020, 9:21 PM EST
Some Republicans vocalize their support for Trump's comments
While some Republicans rebuked the president's remarks on Thursday night, others supported and even echoed his comments.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton tweeted "all votes that are *legally* cast should be counted."
"There is NO excuse not to allow poll watchers to observe counting," he added, also tweeting a link to the president's legal defense fund.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley also tweeted in support of Trump.
"The American people, whatever their party, deserve total transparency in the election vote," he said. "Allow poll watchers to be present as ballots counted. Full accounting of all ballots. Ban ballot harvesting."
Nov 05, 2020, 8:45 PM EST
Trump Jr. and others rally Republican supporters in Atlanta
Donald Trump Jr. and a few Trump campaign surrogates held a press conference in Atlanta Thursday night.
Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones kicked things off by falsely claiming illegal ballots were being counted and that Trump supporters should be ready for a fight.
"We need to know now. ... How the hell you can send a man to the moon, but you can't get results in 24 hours? Something’s wrong with that," he said.
Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, gestures during a news conference at Georgia Republican Party headquarters Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020 in Atlanta.
John Bazemore/AP
Trump Jr. took the stage next and said, "I think the number one thing that Donald Trump can do in this election is fight each and every one of these battles to the death, so that we get full transparency in the process and everyone on the Democrat side should welcome this unless they're actually cheating. Because if they're winning these things fair and square, then everyone would love to know that because me as an American, I'd like to know that because I've lost all faith in the process."
Donald Trump Jr., gestures as he speaks during a news conference at Georgia Republican Party headquarters, Nov. 5, 2020 in Atlanta.
John Bazemore/AP
Rep. Doug Collins and Georgia Republican National Committeewoman Ginger Howard also attended.
Throughout the event there were several rallying cries of the Republican members in the audience who loudly chanted "stop the steal" and "Georgia is red."
-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Terrance Smith
Nov 05, 2020, 8:31 PM EST
RNC, Trump campaign ask to join Arizona Sharpie lawsuit
The case is being brought by a woman in Arizona who claims that a ballot box failed to properly read her vote after she was provided a Sharpie to fill out her ballot at her polling place.
The plaintiffs are requesting that ballots that could not be read by the voting machines due to the use of Sharpies be allowed to be cured, and that individuals who experienced errors with voting machines due to use of a Sharpie be allowed to observe the ongoing adjudication process.
Poll workers count ballots inside the Maricopa County Election Department in Phoenix, Nov. 5, 2020.
Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images
The plaintiffs said they'd like discovery to occur in the case and suggested a hearing a week from Thursday. RNC interveners suggested an even longer timeline.
Tom Liddy, an attorney for Maricopa County, argued at a conference Thursday that the case ought to be dismissed -- and that it should be done quickly in order to prevent any potential delays in tabulation.
"The voters have a right to know that the allegations flying around the internet about sharpies being dropped from black helicopters to trick people out of votes are fake," Liddy said. "They are not real but they are scaring people."
Liddy also noted that those interested in watching the ballot adjudication process can do so online right now.
The judge said it was not immediately clear to her how allowing individuals to watch ballot tabulation and adjudication was an appropriate remedy for those concerned that their ballots were not counted correctly.
The judge ordered that parties in the case decide on a path forward and present it to her by 11:30 a.m. MT Friday.
The Arizona secretary of state and Maricopa County elections officials have asserted that Sharpies are a safe -- and even preferred -- method for casting in-person ballots in the state.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Nov 05, 2020, 8:07 PM EST
Some Republicans criticize Trump’s remarks
Several moderate Republicans quickly responded to Trump's remarks Thursday night.
Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called for the president to stop spreading misinformation, saying "this is getting insane."
Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who has said he did not vote for Trump, tweeted that there was "no defense for the President's comments tonight undermining our Democratic process."
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, the only Senate Republican who voted to convict Trump during his impeachment trial, did not mention the president by name but said, "have faith in our Democracy, in our Constitution, and in the American people."
