Joe Biden Makes History As First Presidential Candidate With 80 Million Votes

President-elect Joe Biden has become the first candidate in history to amass 80 million votes in a US election. 

Earlier in November, Biden was projected to win the presidential election following a key win in Pennsylvania. While all states hadn’t been counted, he was on track to pass the Electoral College majority needed to secure the White House.

Weeks later, despite the ‘lame duck’ POTUS warring against the results, Biden’s victory is abundantly clear with a landslide haul in the popular vote.

In the Electoral College, Biden won 306 votes, while Trump won 232. While that’s a reasonable win, the popular vote presents far more startling figures.

As of today, November 24, Biden has become the first presidential candidate in US history to receive more than 80 million votes in an election, as per The Independent.

The popular vote pertains to the basic percentage of votes for a specific candidate, as opposed to the system used to decide the presidency, which is based on a series of votes given to each state that are generally awarded on the results of the popular vote.

A record voter turnout of 65.5%, equating to more than 156 million people, has seen multiple records smashed across the tallying of the votes. As counts rolled in, Biden sailed past Obama’s previous records; in 2008, he won nearly 70 million votes, while in 2012, he amassed nearly 66 million votes.

Trump’s results, despite his contention, have also seen new records. With around 74 million votes, it’s the most ballots for a losing presidential candidate, as well as the most votes for a sitting president.

The current POTUS has been constantly pushing baseless claims of electoral fraud and ‘illegal votes’ with no evidence. Meanwhile, Biden is preparing to unveil his impending administration ahead of his inauguration in January next year.

The General Services Administration, the federal industry tasked with handling presidential changeovers, has recognised Biden as the ‘apparent winner’, with its chief Emily Murphy citing ‘recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results’ in her decision, as per BBC News.

Trump hasn’t conceded the election, but wrote in a tweet, ‘Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.’

At the time of writing, 93% of the Trump campaign’s election lawsuits have been dismissed or lost. While many Republicans are either supporting the president or remaining quiet, a small number have called for him to concede.

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