The aftermath of the 2020 presidential election

Emma Halman

Nov. 7, 2020 is a monumental date that will be remembered for years to come as the day the American people received a glimmer of hope for their future. The results of the 46th presidential election were broadcast on this fateful Saturday—four days after Election Day—announcing candidate Joe Biden as the president-elect. Unlike years prior, the safety precautions surrounding COVID-19 resulted in an influx of mail-in ballots from voters. As a result, claims of a fraudulent election have been spurring from incumbent Donald Trump, who for weeks prior was already denouncing the election for being “rigged.” 

In an accurately tumultuous reflection of the past four years, Trump has continued to contest the recent election results, arguing mass voter fraud before the Supreme Court and countless district courts nationwide. His most recent litigation in Pennsylvania challenged the “Democratic stronghold that helped push President-elect Joe Biden over the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the race” in Philadelphia, according to the Associated Press

Despite the extreme polarization along partisan lines that continue to divide our country, Republicans and Democrats alike have taken to publicly condemning Trump’s investigation. Most directly, Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah tweeted, “[Trump] is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen一doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the Republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.” Law firms involved in the investigations such as Porter Wright Morris & Arthur and Jones Day have also attempted to distance themselves from the Trump administration and its pursuits. 

However, Trump’s most loyal supporters continue to support his narrative of mass voter fraud surrounding the three-day extension given by many states to receive mail-in ballots despite the security of mail-in voting having already been proved by the five states that use it to conduct their entire elections: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Nearly all the claims made by the Trump administration regarding voter fraud have been quickly refuted, if not immediately, such as in Chatham County. The day after the election, it was argued that the state of Georgia had counted ineligible ballots. However, just hours later, the case was dismissed by the judge after the county election head reviewed all 53 of the ballots in question and verified their validity. In Michigan, the court dismissed another case after Judge Cynthia Stephens deemed the filing as “inadmissible hearsay within hearsay,” reports the Associated Press.

Indeed, investigative editor for USA Today Matt Doig explains that while voting irregularities can and do occur in all elections, they are extremely rare and “don’t amount to negating a national election.”  

For the most recent updates on this story, please visit apnews.com. Feel free to make your voice heard and comment your opinions on this story as it advances.