Mikela Picard

Lion Roar
The Deciding State

Through this long, drawn-out, and dreaded election of 2020, many Americans spent

days on the edge of their seats, waiting anxiously for the results of who will become the next

President of the United States. After four days counting mail-in ballots since election day,

November 3, 2020, America became more anxious than ever, still waiting on Georgia,

Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, Alaska's results. With former Vice President Joe Biden

in the lead holding 264 electoral votes and current President Donald Trump falling behind with

214, it was down to Nevada to bring Biden to victory. But in this close race between Biden and

Trump with state’s votes flipping every day, the real question was: which will be the deciding

state?

According to the electoral college, the first candidate to reach 270 electoral votes in a

presidential election, claims the win and will become the next President of the United States.

Having 264 electoral votes since election day, Biden only needed six more electoral votes to

win. Coincidentally, Nevada has exactly six electoral votes and was the next state in line to

report a winner. Biden was winning in Nevada from the start, but the race was close, and

Nevada could be Biden’s only chance at winning the election. As of November 5th, 2020,

President Trump was projected to win Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alaska

bringing him to 268 electoral votes in total. With Biden having 264, he was depending on

Nevada to give him the six electoral votes to bring him to exactly 270, the number needed to

win. But if Trump won Nevada, he would hold 274 votes and win the election. It was down to

Nevada to decide the fate of this election.

But miraculously on November 6th, 2020, Georgia and Pennsylvania, both key

battleground and swing states, had turned blue. With 16 electoral votes for Georgia and 20 for

Pennsylvania, if Biden won either state, he would win the election. It was down to the wire.
 After four days of waiting, finally, the results were in. On November 7th, 2020, at almost

12 AM EST, Joe Biden managed to win Pennsylvania by 46,256 votes, bringing him to a total of

284 electoral votes. Joe Biden had become the 46th President of the United States. Shortly

after Nevada claimed Biden as the winner also, giving him six more electoral votes. Many were

shocked that Pennsylvania would turn blue and be the deciding factor in this election, seeing

that Republican Donald Trump had previously won this state’s electoral votes during the 2016

election. As of now, ballots are still being counted in North Carolina, Georgia, and Alaska, but

with Biden holding 290 votes and Trump still behind with 214 votes, this win can be rightfully

handed to Biden and Harris.

November 7th, 2020 was a day of victory for most of America. Millions of Americans,

young and old, paraded the streets rejoicing, singing, dancing, cheering, and celebrating Biden’s

win. Even other countries around the world joined along, peacefully marching the streets in

celebration. Joe Biden had become the 46th President of the United States. Beside him,

Kamala Harris had become the first female, person of color, Indian American, and black Vice

President in the history of America. With the most voter turnout in any presidential election, and

the most impact on all generations in America, and countries across the world, this election will,

without question, go down in history.

Picture options:

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