The 2024 presidential election is over, but the path to Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 is just beginning.

This presidential election will be the first since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.

To voters in many other democracies, the process of electing a president in the U.S. is a head-scratcher.

The Electoral College is the unique American system of electing presidents.

Felony forgery charges have been filed in Wisconsin against two attorneys and an aide who helped submit paperwork falsely saying that former President Donald Trump had won the battleground state in 2020.

Ten Republicans who posed as fake electors for former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and filed paperwork falsely saying he had won the battleground state have settled a civil lawsuit and admitted their actions were part of an effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.

State attorneys general and the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are digging deeper into the role that fake slates of electors played in the desperate effort by former President Donald Trump to cling to power after his 2020 defeat.

Former President Donald Trump is intensifying his effort to advance the false narrative that his vice president, Mike Pence, could have done something to prevent Joe Biden from taking office.

The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has subpoenaed more than a dozen individuals who it says falsely tried to declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 election.

Partisan election reviews of the 2020 presidential election are underway in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin while Republican lawmakers elsewhere continue their calls to bring them to their states.

Nebraska's Republican-controlled legislature is considering changes to the congressional map that would give them an edge in a competitive congressional seat — and the presidential election.

The Pentagon is taking a rare look at whether it is properly prepared for an emergency in which the portable communications system nicknamed the “nuclear football," which always accompanies the president, is lost or stolen.

Officials in Arizona’s largest county plan to stop using voting machines turned over to contractors hired by Republican state senators for a partisan audit of the 2020 election.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs has announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022 while denouncing the Republican-controlled state Senate’s ongoing audit of the 2020 presidential election.

The House Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Republicans solidly oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs. In the wake of the decision, Democratic leaders were likely to face unrest from rank-and-file lawmakers, who have long had differences over the federal minimum wage. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have voiced opposition to including the minimum wage hike in the relief bill, and other moderates have expressed concerns, too. “House Democrats believe that the minimum wage hike is necessary. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have state minimum wages that exceed the federal $7.25 hourly floor, with only the District of Columbia currently requiring a $15 minimum.

In this image from video, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks as the House debates the objection to confirm the Electoral College vote from Pennsylvania, at the U.S. Capitol early Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (House Television via AP)WASHINGTON – Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, is launching a political action committee to push back against a House GOP leadership team and party that he says have become too closely aligned to the former president. And I think most Republicans didn’t sign up for that.”“It doesn’t mean we don’t need to fight back, you know, to defend what we believe, conservative principles,” he added. “Republicans must say enough is enough," Kinzinger says in the video. “It’s time to unplug the outrage machine, reject the politics of personality, and cast aside the conspiracy theories and the rage.”

The House is trying to push the vice president and Cabinet to act even more quickly to remove President Donald Trump from office. Ten Republican House members voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. ___12:45 p.m.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump represents a “clear and present danger” to the nation and must be impeached. The debate is heated almost from the start as the House sets up a vote to impeach President Donald Trump. ___8:15 a.m.Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger is predicting more Republicans will join him in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.

FILE: Vice President Mike Pence listens after reading the final certification of Electoral College votes cast in November's presidential election during a joint session of Congress after working through the night, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Wednesday, disrupting the process. Scott Applewhite, Pool)Vice President Mike Pence is ruling out invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from power, less than a week after the president fomented the violent insurrection at the Capitol. Pelosi has called on Pence to secure the majority of the Cabinet and vote to declare Trump unfit to serve. Pelosi has said if Pence rejects use of the 25th Amendment, the House will move to impeach him.

Protesters, newspaper editorial boards and local-level Democrats have urged the lawmakers to step down or for their colleagues to kick them out. The House and Senate can remove members with a two-thirds vote or censure or reprimand with a majority. In St. Louis on Saturday, several hundred people protested against Sen. Josh Hawley, the first-term Missouri Republican who led efforts in the Senate to overturn Biden's election. Johnson initially supported Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, but after the riot, he voted in favor of Biden's win. Perry condemned the Capitol violence.

ROANOKE, Va. – A Southwest Virginia congressman’s vote against the Electoral College results Wednesday inspired a small group of Roanoke protesters to demonstrate against him. A gathering of about 20 people marched from Elmwood Park to Rep. Ben Cline’s Roanoke office Thursday morning. The group planned to talk to people at his office, but were unable to do so. Demonstrators said the protest came together spontaneously after watching the vote and the siege at the U.S. Capitol. “I’m furious,” said Brienne Nida, who traveled down from Botetourt County for the demonstration.

This was a big day, especially for the House and Senate leadership lane, one of my specialties. Smith Goes to Washington” you've seen my work area since a press gallery scene from the movie was filmed there more than 70 years ago. (The Senate chamber, however, was a soundstage). The mob was out of the building by then and, strangely, it almost seemed boring, waiting for the Capitol to be declared safe. The Daily Press Gallery where I work had not been breached.

Violent protesters loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Wednesday, disrupting the process. One Republican lawmaker publicly called for invoking the 25th Amendment to force Trump from office before Biden is inaugurated. The support Trump has received for his efforts to overturn the election results have badly strained the nation’s democratic guardrails. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices. The Pentagon said about 1,100 District of Columbia National Guard members were being mobilized to help support law enforcement at the Capitol.

Vice President Mike Pence, wears a protective mask while attending a mock swearing-in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – Defying President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that he does not have the power to discard electoral votes that will make Democrat Joe Biden the next president on Jan. 20. While Trump was speaking, Pence’s motorcade carried him through a heavily-secured Washington toward the Capitol, where thousands of Trump supporters were marching. Pence told Trump during their weekly lunch in the West Wing on Tuesday that he did not believe he had the power to unilaterally overturn electoral votes, according to a person briefed on the one-on-one conversation. Nevertheless, more than 100 House Republicans and a dozen Senate Republicans have said they will challenge the electoral votes of at least one state.

WASHINGTON – UPDATE: Congress plans to resume at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Congress will meet Wednesday afternoon to count the Electoral College votes in each state. During this session, members of Congress will open sealed certificates, brought into the chamber in special mahogany boxes, from each state that have a record of their Electoral College votes. [EXPLAINER: How Congress will count Electoral College votes]Vice President Mike Pence, president of the Senate, will preside over the session and declare the winner. The AP reports lawmakers will confirm the Electoral vote won by Joe Biden during this joint session.

Cruz led the first challenge to Joe Biden’s defeat of President Donald Trump by objecting to Arizona’s results. President Donald Trump has falsely said since his defeat that there was widespread fraud in the election. Earlier Wednesday, supporters of President Donald Trump breached the U.S. Capitol, forcing a lockdown of the lawmakers and staff inside. ___6:30 p.m.Republican Sen. Mitt Romney is blaming President Donald Trump for inciting a violent “insurrection” at the Capitol. President Trump lost.″___6:25 p.m.President Donald Trump has appeared to justify the violent occupation of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leaves the House chamber for the Senate to consider objections to certify Electoral College votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. All 50 states have certified the electoral votes. Freshman Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has said he will challenge Pennsylvania's electoral votes. Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia were all pivotal states that Biden carried on his way to his 306-232 Electoral College win. McConnell, 78, has been the Republican leader since 2007 and is the longest-serving Senate GOP leader in history.

Some Republican lawmakers were in the midst of raising objections to the results on his behalf when the proceedings were abruptly halted by the mob. Together, the protests and the GOP election objections amounted to an almost unthinkable challenge to American democracy and exposed the depths of the divisions that have coursed through the country during Trump’s four years in office. Before dawn Thursday, lawmakers completed their work, confirming Biden won the presidential election. In the aftermath, several Republicans announced they would drop their objections to the election, including Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., who lost her bid for reelection Tuesday. Some House lawmakers tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to show support for President Trump one day before Congress certifies the Electoral College results. What is usually a ceremonial counting of the votes, that each state has already certified, is drawing nationwide attention because some Republicans plan to object. [Rep. Ben Cline says he’ll object the Electoral College certification process]Meanwhile, Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner plans to certify the votes and said the count could take a while. “It does seem that there’s evidence of fraud, there’s evidence that laws were not followed in accordance with the state legislators who make those laws in those respectful states,” said Good. Warner said he expects the majority of Republicans to certify the 306 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kalama Harris.

Congressman Ben Cline announced Tuesday that he will support objections to the Electoral College certification process on Wednesday. Cline, who represents Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, joins other congressmen planning to reject Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. In addition, the state Legislatures have enacted laws with detailed election rules and procedures by which voters are to choose their presidential electors. Our founders set up a system of, by, and for the people that placed the state Legislatures at its very heart, and that heart still beats strongly today. Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, which contains all of Amherst County, Augusta County, Bath County, Botetourt County, Highland County, Page County, Rockbridge Couty, Rockingham County, Shenandoah County, Warren County, Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Staunton, Waynesboro and parts of Bedford and Roanoke counties.

Though he got nothing but cheers Monday night, Trump's attempt to overturn the presidential election i s splitting the Republican Party. Trump himself is whipping up crowds for a Wednesday rally near the White House. Trump said in Georgia: “I hope that our great vice president comes through for us. Two current Republican senators, Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, joined the growing number who now oppose the legislators' challenge. Larry Hogan of Maryland; Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House GOP leader; and former House Speaker Paul Ryan — have criticized the GOP efforts to overturn the election.

Of the more than 50 lawsuits the president and his allies have filed challenging election results, nearly all have been dismissed or dropped. Other prominent former officials also criticized the ongoing attack on election results. Cruz's coalition of 11 Republican senators vows to reject the Electoral College tallies unless Congress launches a commission to immediately conduct an audit of the election results. The convening of the joint session to count the Electoral College votes has faced objections before. States choose their own election officials and draft their election laws.

Caught in the middle is Vice President Mike Pence, who faces growing pressure and a lawsuit from Trump's allies over his ceremonial role in presiding over the session Wednesday. Biden is set to be inaugurated Jan. 20 after winning the Electoral College vote 306-232. “A suit to establish that the Vice President has discretion over the count, filed against the Vice President, is a walking legal contradiction,” the department argues. The Republican leader pointedly called on Hawley to answer questions about his challenge to Biden's victory, according to two of the Republicans. When Biden was vice president, he, too, presided over the session as the Electoral College presented the 2016 vote tally to Congress to confirm Trump the winner.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON – The congressional joint session to count electoral votes is generally a routine, ceremonious affair. Under federal law, Congress must meet Jan. 6 to open sealed certificates from each state that contain a record of their electoral votes. The Constitution requires Congress to meet and count the electoral votes. The presiding officer opens and presents the certificates of the electoral votes in alphabetical order of the states. The tellers then record and count the votes, and the presiding officer announces who has won the majority votes for both president and vice president.

“As conservative media proliferated, it put a lot more pressure on the hosts to move to the right and embrace warfare politics,” Rosenwald said. This is a business.”Hemmer said she expects the Electoral College vote will begin to shift the narrative from “the election is undecided" to “the election was stolen.”The difficulty of that transition was evident in coverage of the Electoral College voting. With Congress meeting Jan. 6 to formally count the Electoral College vote, Kelly said, “the way I read it, we won't have a president-elect until then.”CNN treated it like a second election night, keeping a running tally of Electoral College votes on the screen. The Electoral College vote led Bret Baier's newscast, which was not a given considering COVID-19 vaccinations began Monday. Meanwhile, daytime anchor Bill Hemmer's hourlong newscast didn't even mention the Electoral College.

First, the Republican leader heaped praise on Trump's “endless” accomplishments as he congratulated President-elect Joe Biden during a morning Senate speech. Then he pivoted, privately warning Republican senators away from disputing the Electoral College tally when Congress convenes in a joint session Jan. 6 to confirm the results. “I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden,” McConnell said as he opened the Senate. They finally said aloud what many Republicans had been signaling privately — that Biden is the winner of the presidential election, and they are essentially abandoning Trump's election attacks. Some GOP lawmakers have vowed to carry the fight to Jan. 6 when Congress votes to accept or reject the Electoral College results.

Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 election. California’s 55 electoral votes put Biden over the top. Biden won the state by 154,000 votes, or 2.8 percentage points, over Trump. Republicans who would have been Trump electors met anyway in a handful of states Biden won. In North Carolina, Utah and other states across the country where Trump won, his electors turned out to duly cast their ballots for him.

He said Monday’s Electoral College vote “was significant.”Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn said barring further legal challenges it appears Biden will be president. Others have said Trump's legal battles should continue toward resolution by inauguration day, Jan. 20. "Once the Electoral College has voted, most people are going to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect." "Although I supported President Trump, the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now President-Elect,” said Sen. Many Republicans are unwilling to declare Biden the winner for the same reasons they avoided standing up to Trump during his presidency.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)WASHINGTON – For weeks, President Donald Trump has put America's democratic institutions under unprecedented strain as he fights to hold power despite losing his bid for reelection. On Monday, the Electoral College did its part, formally confirming President-elect Joe Biden's victory over Trump. Anything less than certification of Biden's victory would amount to an unprecedented undermining of a free and fair American election. After both governors certified the Democrat’s victory, Trump cast them as traitors to his cause. Shortly after Biden's Electoral College victory was confirmed, Trump announced that Barr was departing the administration before Christmas.

The Electoral College has formally validated Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election. Biden cleared the 270 electoral vote threshold on Monday after California’s electors cast their votes for the Democrat. When all of the states finish voting, Biden is expected to lead President Donald Trump 306-232. The Electoral College vote is normally a procedural step in the presidential election, but its importance is heightened this year because Trump is refusing to concede his loss. The Electoral College results will be sent to Washington and tallied in a Jan. 6 joint session of Congress over which Vice President Mike Pence will preside.

The president-elect will deliver a speech Monday night, after the Electoral College formally votes to declare him president. Getting the pandemic under control to getting the nation vaccinated against this virus,” Biden will say. Mike Donilon, a senior adviser to Biden, said the American electorate is looking for Democrats and Republicans to get in sync. Aides to Biden say a turn away from a contentious election and to governing is perhaps easier said than done. “The president-elect himself has said this is not about his family or Donald Trump’s family,” she said.

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia cast its 13 Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden on Monday. The 13 electors gathered at the state House of Delegates for a ceremony that was closed to the public amid the coronavirus pandemic. Ralph Northam thanked the electors before they cast their votes. Electors also participated in a prayer and the Pledge of Alliance before voting for Biden began. While Virginia was considered a swing state as recently as 2012, it has trended sharply toward Democrats over the past decade, especially in the populous northern Virginia suburbs.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on the Electoral College meeting (all times local):9:40 a.m.Michigan legislative offices are closed because of threats of violence as presidential electors prepare to gather in the state Capitol to cast their votes for Democrat Joe Biden. The Capitol building is closed to the public due to coronavirus restrictions except when lawmakers meet for session. Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 election with 306 Electoral College votes, while President Donald Trump finished with 232. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency. STATES THAT HAVE SUBMITTED THEIR ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES: None.

WASHINGTON – Presidential electors are meeting across the United States on Monday to formally choose Joe Biden as the nation’s next president. The electors’ votes have drawn more attention than usual this year because President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election and continued to make baseless allegations of fraud. Biden won 306 electoral votes to 232 votes for Trump. Electors almost always vote for the state winner anyway because they generally are devoted to their political party. Electors cast one vote each for president and vice president.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks after the Electoral College formally elected him as president, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. The presidential electors gave Biden a solid majority of 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232, the same margin that Trump bragged was a landslide when he won the White House four years ago. California’s 55 electoral votes put Biden over the top. Republicans who would have been Trump electors met anyway in a handful of states Biden won. With the exception of Maine and Nebraska, states award all their Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote in their state.

That's when the Electoral College meets. Some questions and answers about the Electoral College:WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? In drafting the Constitution, America's founders struggled with how the new nation should choose its leader and ultimately created the Electoral College system. WHAT'S THE BEEF WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? The Electoral College has been the subject of criticism for more than two centuries.

That's when the Electoral College meets. Some questions and answers about the Electoral College:WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? In drafting the Constitution, America's founders struggled with how the new nation should choose its leader and ultimately created the Electoral College system. WHAT'S THE BEEF WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? The Electoral College has been the subject of criticism for more than two centuries.

This year's presidential race provides the latest motivation for change to supporters of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. It would compel member states to award their electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote. Under the Electoral College, each state's number of electoral votes equals the size of its congressional delegation. “Nonetheless, National Popular Vote is working to obtain support for the compact in Congress.”After Bush and Trump won the White House despite losing the popular vote, the push to change the system has become more partisan. A national popular vote measure, for example, passed the Republican-controlled New York Senate back then, but didn’t get through the Democrat-controlled Assembly.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court court previously refused to hear Trump’s state case before it went through the lower courts. A majority of justices have also openly questioned whether disqualifying the ballots, as Trump wants, would be appropriate. But Trump is now getting a chance to argue the merits of the case before the court controlled 4-3 by conservatives. Trump also has a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin where the judge could rule as soon as Friday. Devaney also said Trump “cynically” targeted ballots cast in Wisconsin’s two most urban, non-white counties for disqualification.

That's when the Electoral College meets. Some questions and answers about the Electoral College:WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? In drafting the Constitution, America's founders struggled with how the new nation should choose its leader and ultimately created the Electoral College system. WHAT'S THE BEEF WITH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE? The Electoral College has been the subject of criticism for more than two centuries.

HONOLULU – Hawaii on Tuesday certified the results of its presidential vote after the state Supreme Court dismissed an elections complaint challenging the entirety of the Nov. 3 general election in the islands. President-elect Joe Biden won 63.1% of Hawaii’s vote, compared to President Donald Trump’s 34%, according to the final summary report from the state Office of Elections. The pending court case had held up certification of the presidential vote for more than two weeks. The plaintiffs alleged the state’s non-partisan Office of Elections violated state law when they implemented the state’s new vote-by-mail system this year. Hawaii’s elections are administered by the Office of Elections, a state agency that reports to the bipartisan Hawaii State Elections Commission.

The safe harbor deadline is six days earlier. The attention paid to the normally obscure safe harbor provision is a function of Trump's unrelenting efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the election. Judge Stephen Simanek, appointed to hear the case, has acknowledged that the case would push the state outside the electoral vote safe harbor. The safe harbor provision played a prominent role in the Bush v. Gore case after the 2000 presidential election. The Supreme Court shut down Florida’s state-court-ordered recount because the safe harbor deadline was approaching.

California certified its presidential election Friday and appointed 55 electors pledged to vote for Democrat Joe Biden, officially handing him the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House. There have been no suggestions that any of Biden's pledged electors would contemplate not voting for him. Results of the Electoral College vote are due to be received, and typically approved, by Congress on Jan. 6. Trump has fruitlessly tried to stop those states from certifying Biden as the winner and appointing electors for the former vice president. If they don't, the electors appointed by the states' governors — all pledged to Biden in these cases — must be used.

He filed another one in state court, which the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear before it first goes through lower courts. “I have a very, very hard time seeing how this is justiciable in the federal court,” Ludwig, a Trump appointee, said. Bush saying, “Not gonna do it.”In his state lawsuit, Trump is seeking to disqualify 221,000 ballots he claims were cast illegally. Jim Troupis, Trump's attorney in the state lawsuit, argued his case should take precedent over the federal lawsuit, where Troupis is not the attorney. Two others filed by Trump allies — one in federal court and one in state court — remain.

“Certainly I will," he said Thursday when asked if he will vacate the premises after electors make Biden's win formal. No concession is needed from Trump for Biden to become president, none has been offered and Trump may never admit he was beaten fair and square. But there were a few signs that Trump was coming to terms with his loss. “Because we know there was massive fraud.”Electors “will have made a mistake” by affirming Biden's win, he said. Trump said he doesn't “want to talk about 2024 yet.”“This has a long way to go,” Trump said, even though he lost.

NBC News has officially made a projection for every U.S. state’s Electoral College votes. President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia, while President Trump won North Carolina, NBC News announced on Friday. Trump gains 15 electoral votes, while Biden gains 16, bringing the final projected tally to 306 electoral votes for Biden and 232 for Trump. Trump also won North Carolina four years ago. Currently, election officials in Georgia’s 159 counties are undertaking a hand tally of the presidential race that stems from an audit required by state law.

The number of electors is equal to the number of electoral votes held by each state. — Dec. 14: Electors vote by paper ballot in their respective states and the District of Columbia. With the verdict in some states still to come, Biden already has won enough states to be awarded more than 270 electoral votes. Any objection to a state’s electoral vote has to be approved by both houses in order for any contested votes to be excluded. If neither presidential candidate got at least 270 electoral votes, the House would decide the election, based on the 12th Amendment to the Constitution.

The delay has the potential to upend civic norms, impede Biden’s transition to the White House and sow doubt in the nation’s civic and election systems. Trump would need to produce ample evidence of impropriety to undo Biden’s lead, which appears unlikely. Trump and his GOP allies haven’t offered evidence of election fraud, and their legal challenges have largely been rejected by the courts. McConnell noted the potential turmoil during the transition in praising ousted Defense Secretary Mark Esper, whom Trump fired on Monday. The stakes are high for all sides, with strategists expecting an eye-popping $500 million could be spent in the weeks ahead.

WILMINGTON, Del. – President-elect Joe Biden, alongside Kamala Harris, addressed the nation Saturday night after being projected to be America’s next president. This is the first speech he made after his win.

Officials from Georgia’s Secretary of State office provided an update on voting as results remain too close to call on Friday. This is the third press conference since Thursday. Going by the Associated Press tally, if Biden wins Georgia, he would secure the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Officials said there will likely be a recount. To see live results of the presidential election, click here.

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The City Commissioner of Election for Philadelphia is giving an update as the state remains too close to call. As of 12:30 p.m., Biden does have a narrow lead in the state with 3,302,977 votes while President Donald Trump has 3,293,231 votes. Biden has 253 Electoral College Votes and Trump has 214. If Biden were to win the state, he would secure more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

Here, Colleen Long, a national reporter in the Washington bureau of The Associated Press who is leading coverage of the legal challenges, breaks down how these lawsuits could affect the presidential election. In Pennsylvania and Michigan, the campaign wanted to temporarily halt vote counting until Republicans got more oversight of the tally. Election law experts and state election officials have overwhelmingly said there has been no sign of widespread or even sporadic voter fraud. Bush v. Gore in 2000 was a good example of how litigation can affect the outcome of an election. ___PREVIOUS AP STORIES ON THE 2020 ELECTION AND LEGAL CHALLENGES:— Taking a stand has new meaning in heavily litigated election— Just over a week before the US election, lawsuits linger

RENO, NV – Election officials in Nevada held a press conference as a candidate has yet to claim victory in the state. Nevada voting update Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria is giving an update on Nevada vote counting. Posted by WSLS 10 / WSLS.com on Thursday, November 5, 2020In Arizona, which has 11 Electoral College votes, the Associated Press has declared Biden the winner. Going by the Associated Press tally, if Biden wins Nevada, he would secure exactly 270 Electoral College votes. Per NBC’s count, if Biden wins Nevada, he would be 11 Electoral College votes short of the 270 he needs.

WHAT BIDEN SAIDBiden also addressed his supporters in the middle of the night, pleading for their patience while the votes are counted. “It ain’t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted,” Biden said. LEGAL CHALLENGESThe Trump campaign says it has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan, demanding better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted. Trump, meanwhile, won overwhelming support from white and rural supporters to turn out voters in the places that powered his victory four years ago. In some competitive states, like Nevada and Florida, Trump ate away at Biden’s support among Latinos.

Joe Biden has won Michigan and Wisconsin, pushing him closer to 270 Electoral College votes and narrowing President Donald Trump’s possible path to reelection. Right now, by the Associated Press' projections, if Biden wins Nevada, he will hit 270 votes exactly. Only a handful of battleground states remain uncalled including Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Neither candidate cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House, and the margins were tight in several other battleground states. Statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes; Biden leads by 0.624 percentage point out of nearly 3.3 million ballots counted.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Joe Biden all but said he’s America’s next president on Tuesday afternoon. Joe Biden speaking as vote counting continues LIVE: With votes still being counted in a tight presidential race, Joe Biden is giving a statement from Wilmington, Del. Posted by WSLS 10 / WSLS.com on Wednesday, November 4, 2020The former vice president spoke shortly after 4 p.m. and announced that while he feels he will achieve the 270 votes needed, he is not yet declaring victory. As of 4:19 p.m., NBC News is projected Biden to win 237 Electoral College votes while President Trump has 214.

A full day after Election Day, neither candidate had cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Trump’s campaign requested a recount, though statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes. After the victories in Wisconsin and Michigan, he was just six Electoral College votes away from the presidency. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the president would formally request a Wisconsin recount, citing “irregularities" in several counties. The Trump campaign on Wednesday pushed Republican donors to dig deeper into their pockets to help finance legal challenges.

IS THERE A DEADLINE BY WHICH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE MUST OFFICIALLY HAVE ALL ITS VOTES IN? Election Day is only one point in the process of the Electoral College, which decides who wins a U.S. presidential race. After the polls close, states begin to count and certify popular vote results according to their respective rules. Electoral College electors in each state don’t vote until Dec. 14. Certificates recording the electoral vote results in each state must be received by the president of the Senate and the archivist no later than Dec. 23.

Vote tabulations routinely continue beyond Election Day, and states largely set the rules for when the count has to end. Several states allow mailed-in votes to be accepted after Election Day, as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. Democrats typically outperform Republicans in mail voting, while the GOP looks to make up ground in Election Day turnout. Trump kept several states, including Texas, Iowa and Ohio, where Biden had made a strong play in the final stages of the campaign. The momentum from early voting carried into Election Day, as an energized electorate produced long lines at polling sites throughout the country.

Virginia is made up of 133 counties and cities and whoever receives the majority of those votes across those localities will receive the state’s 13 Electoral College voters will support. Voters in Virginia will see President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden and Libertarian candidate Dr. Jo Jorgensen on their ballots. U.S. President - Virginia In 2016, Hillary Clinton received 1,981,473 votes in Virginia while Donald Trump received 1,769.443 votes. View All CandidatesHere’s the complete breakout of how all Virginia cities and counties voted in the presidential race:Interested in the results of other races? Use the picker below:Find Race ResultsGet the latest Virginia Election news here

Voters will see President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden and Libertarian candidate Dr. Jo Jorgensen on their ballots. U.S. President - Virginia In 2016, Hillary Clinton received 1,981,473 votes in Virginia while Donald Trump received 1,769.443 votes. This equates to 52.83% of the state's vote for Clinton and 47.17% for Trump. View All CandidatesFor those looking for more in-depth results on this race, click here if you’d like to see a complete locality breakdown of the votes across Virginia. Use the picker below:Find Race ResultsGet the latest Virginia Election news here

“I wasn't aware of that,” Shirl Mora James, a leader in the Nebraska Democratic Party, said with a sigh. Maine’s sprawling 2nd District is among the nation’s largest and most rural, made up of small farms, coastal communities and vast stretches of forest. The Nebraska district also dips south to older suburbs near Offutt Air Force Base. Polling indicates Biden has a slight lead in the Nebraska district despite trailing badly statewide. And the road to victory runs right through northern Maine,” Pence told a gathering in Hermon, in the 2nd District.

Have you ever wondered why is it that one candidate can win the popular vote but another wins the electoral vote, and thus, the presidency? Four candidates in history have won a majority of the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College. That includes Hillary Clinton, who had the largest popular vote margin of any losing presidential candidate in U.S. history. Graphic shows scenario in which a presidential candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election. It would take a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College -- an unlikely move because of how difficult it is to pass and ratify constitutional changes.

But what happens if a candidate for president dies before Election Day? Instead, they are voting for slates of electors who will pick the president and vice president as members of the Electoral College. In modern U.S. elections, the meeting of the Electoral College is essentially a ceremonial confirmation of the choice made by voters. If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the House chooses the president and the Senate chooses the vice president, in a process spelled out in the Constitution. In 1824, Andrew Jackson won a a plurality of the popular vote and the most Electoral College votes.

“We cannot leave anything to chance,” Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues, emphasizing the importance of winning House seats for Democrats — not just to expand their majority but to prepare for the possibility that the House must settle the presidential race. But if the Electoral College is deadlocked or unable to reach a majority outcome, the question goes to the House as a “contingent election." Each state’s congressional delegation, consisting of the newly elected House lawmakers, casts one vote to determine the presidential outcome, according to the House history website. But as of now, Pelosi explained, Republicans have a “razor thin” margin — 26 of the state delegations, compared with 22 for Democrats. “We must achieve that majority of delegations or keep the Republicans from doing so,” Pelosi wrote.

WASHINGTON – WHY IS IT THAT ONE CANDIDATE CAN WIN THE POPULAR VOTE BUT ANOTHER WINS THE ELECTORAL VOTE AND THUS THE PRESIDENCY? Four candidates in history have won the popular vote only to be denied the presidency by the Electoral College. The Electoral College was devised at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. But there’s a separate movement that calls for a compact of states to allocate all their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, regardless of how those individual states opted in an election. —-This new series from the AP is dedicated to answering commonly asked questions from our audience about the 2020 U.S. presidential election.