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Formal recognition by the Electoral College on Monday of Joe Biden’s victory has taken on unusual significance this year, over current President Donald Trump’s stubborn refusal to admit defeat.
The results of the November 3 election have been certified by each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Democrat won with a total of 81.3 million votes, 51.3% of the votes cast, compared to 74.2 million (46.8%) for the Republican magnate.
But in the United States the occupant of the White House is elected by indirect universal suffrage, and each state has a certain number of large voters based on its population.
Biden won with 306 of the 538 major voters, and Trump with 232. To win the election, at least 270 were needed.
Members of the Electoral College will formalize the process on Monday, although delegates do it separately in each state.
In the evening Biden will deliver a speech to celebrate the latest confirmation of his victory and “the strength and endurance” of American democracy.
No concession from Trump
Although in recent years there have been some “unfaithful voters” who voted for a candidate who did not win in their state, their number has never been enough to change the outcome of an election.
But Trump has continued to make unsubstantiated claims that the November election was the “most corrupt in American history,” as he tweeted once more on Sunday.
However, his campaign has failed to prove any fraud, and his legal challenges to the vote, examined by dozens of judges, have been dismissed, with only one exception.
The Supreme Court itself, despite having a conservative majority thanks to the designations of three of its members by Trump, refused on Friday even to consider two demands from the Republicans.
Large numbers of Republican lawmakers back Trump’s claims of fraud, but some would be willing to acknowledge Biden’s victory once the Electoral College ratifies it.
However, with polls showing only one in four Republican voters accept the election results as valid, Trump is not expected to back down anytime soon.
This weekend, when Fox News asked him if he would attend Biden’s inauguration on January 20, as required by protocol and centuries of tradition, Trump simply replied: “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Some Trump allies have speculated the possibility of contesting the result on January 6, when Congress formally validates the Electoral College’s count.
Although his chances of success are practically nil, it would be one more example of the state of deep division with which Biden will begin his presidency.
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