Into the early hours of Wednesday morning, America was holding its breath.
Following a heated and often bitterly divisive presidential campaign season, no clear winner had been declared in the race between President Trump and former vice president Joe Biden. And everyone, it seemed, was standing by: the anxious clusters of people watching at bars in Atlanta, the demonstrators gathered in Washington, the viewers glued to their TV screens in living rooms across the country.
Election officials, meanwhile, were busy counting the historic flood of ballots that poured in — by mail and in person, for weeks before Election Day and just as polls closed Tuesday. It was another sign of how the coronavirus pandemic, which already cost millions of Americans their jobs and pushed the country into a recession, has upended this year. Now, in the political climax of 2020, the virus also cast aside any hopes for a swift election night.
Both campaigns were projecting confidence about the results, with several key pickups. The perennial swing states of Florida and Ohio were called for Trump, and Arizona appeared to break for Biden, ending a decades-long losing streak for Democrats in the state. Yet many of the Northern battleground states that captured the nation’s attention after the 2016 race — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan — were still too close to call, possibly without a final result for hours or even days.
The mood in Washington
In downtown Washington, that anxiety converged with anger as demonstrators — and a giant, blow-up chicken featuring Trump’s hairdo — gathered outside a heavily barricaded White House for what some protesters hoped would be a “going-away party” for the president. News reporters filmed just outside the gates, and an uneasy crowd of people watched returns come in. Although local and federal authorities have been bracing for the possibility of unrest, the atmosphere on Tuesday night featured only occasional friction between the crowds, law enforcement and a small minority of Trump supporters.
[Election 2020 live updates and results]
Protesters placed a large Trump inflatable near the White House. (Astrid Riecken/for The Washington Post)
Members of the media gather outside the West Wing of the White House. (Oliver Contreras For The Washington Post)
A night of waiting
With returns still coming in early Wednesday, people tuning in around the country were stuck in a collective state of suspense. Many traditional election night watch parties were smaller this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But in living rooms, restaurants and chilly outdoor venues, Americans gathered to watch — and wait — together.
A mostly Democratic crowd watches results at Manuel’s Tavern in Atlanta. (Kevin D. Liles For the Washington Post)
Nasir Farah from Somalia watches results at Manuel’s Tavern. (Kevin D. Liles For the Washington Post)
The scramble to tally ballots
Election authorities worked late into the evening to tally votes. Mail-in ballots in several battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, cannot be processed or counted until Election Day, even if they have been received days or weeks earlier. With many states having surpassed their 2016 vote totals before Tuesday, analysts say it could be weeks before all results are in.
Election employees extract mail-in ballots in a secure room at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
The facility has the capacity to record 30,000 ballots an hour. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
Workers count and sort ballots at the Multnomah County election headquarters in Portland, Ore. (Eric Thayer For the Washington Post)
Thousands of ballots needed to be counted. (Eric Thayer For the Washington Post)
Biden, Trump address supporters
Biden supporters assembled for a socially distanced viewing party in Wilmington, Del., at the same site where he had accepted the Democratic nomination. Speaking after midnight beneath a nearly full moon, he encouraged the crowd to “keep the faith” and said he believed “we’re on track to win this election.” More than an hour later at the White House, Trump falsely claimed fraud in the election and declared himself the winner, even though millions of votes still need to be counted.
Lydia Massey waits at Joe Biden’s Election Night event in Wilmington. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
Mary Cruz and Patricia Hansen wait for election results in Wilmington. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence watch on. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
President Trump claimed he won the election despite votes still being counted in several states. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Scattered protests as returns come in
Although law enforcement officials were bracing for the possibility of widespread unrest on Tuesday night, the evening saw few major incidents of violence. Peaceful demonstrations began in New York, and Trump supporters in Miami celebrated the president’s unexpectedly strong showing there. In Graham, N.C., a crowd marching to the polls faced off with a small group defending Trump and a local Confederate monument. Police had arrested and pepper-sprayed participants in a separate march there on Saturday.
Marchers in the Push to the Polls March, led by the Rev. Greg Drumwright, hold a rally at the Alamance County Historic Courthouse in Graham, N.C. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
A man waves a Confederate flag as marchers in the Push to the Polls March attend a rally in Graham, N.C. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/elections/photos-voters-wait-election-night/
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