Joe Biden of Democratic Party, Monday, secured overwhelming 302 votes in the Electoral College from battlegrounds to emerge US President and Kamala Harris as the Vice President.
His closest rival, President Donald Trump of Republican Party polled 232 votes from the college to finally take a bow out of the coveted office, after a first-term shot at it.
All of the election’s most closely contested battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia cast their votes for Biden.
Established in the US Constitution in 1787, the Electoral College is an archaic institution that – after Trump won in 2016 without also winning the national, popular vote – some would like to see eliminated.
Each state is awarded a number electors in the college equal to its number of seats in Congress, which is based on population.
Prior to the election, slates of electors are chosen by candidates and their parties within each state. When US citizens vote, they actually cast ballots to elect a slate of electors for their preferred candidate, not the candidates themselves.
Those electors are often lesser-known party loyalists, but in some cases, they are well-known, as in the case former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who served as Biden electors in New York state.
After the votes, Biden accepted thus: “In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed … And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal.”
“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing – not even the pandemic – or an abuse of power – can extinguish that flame,” Biden will say in an address to the nation scheduled for Monday night.
“In America, politicians don’t take power – the people grant it to them,” Biden will say in a swipe at President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the November 3 US election and attempts by Trump and Republican allies to overturn the results in the courts and with state officials.
“We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact,” Biden will say, according to excerpts of his speech released by his transition team.
“As I said through this campaign, I will be a president for all Americans. I will work just as hard for those of you who didn’t vote for me, as I will for those who did,” Biden is expected to say.
He added: “There is urgent work in front of all of us. Getting the pandemic under control to getting the nation vaccinated against this virus. Delivering immediate economic help so badly needed by so many Americans who are hurting today – and then building our economy back better than ever.”
Several high-profile Republican senators — including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa — acknowledged for the first time that Mr Biden was US president-elect after electors met to cast their ballots in 50 state capitals and the District of Columbia.
More than 150m Americans voted on election day, with a record of more than 80 million votes cast for Mr Biden and roughly 74m for Mr Trump.
The president-elect and the vice president-elect, Harris, are due to take office on January 20, 2021.
