Joe Biden has been elected the 46th President of the United States
These elections have shown how important independent, fact-based journalism is to a functioning democracy. Help us provide the high-quality news, data and information you need.
How do elections work?
The winner of the election is determined by a system called the College of Elections. In every 50 states, plus Washington DC, several Electoral College votes were cast, adding up to a total of 538 votes. States with more populations than smaller ones receive electoral college votes.
The candidate must win 270 Electoral College votes (50% plus one) to win the election.
In every state except two – Maine and Nebraska – the candidate with the most votes wins all of the state election college votes.
These rules allow a candidate to win an election without getting more votes at the national level. This happened in the last election in which Donald Trump won a majority of Electoral College votes, while Hillary Clinton had the most votes across America.
How are the results reported?
The Associated Press (AP) reported the election results on this page. AP “Call” the winner in a state when they determine that the trailing candidate has no way to success. This can happen before 100% of the votes are counted in a state.
The EP also provides estimates of the total vote in each state. The numbers will be updated throughout Election Night as more data on voter numbers becomes available.
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