The presidential election has always been an eventful day for the American people as they await the results. However, this past election, considered one of the most important elections in history, was filled with worrisome and anxiousness from both political parties, ending with Vice President Joseph R. Biden as President-Elect and his running mate Kamala Harris as Vice President-Elect of the US. 

On Tuesday, November 3, the controversial presidential election took place with expected results not being called until Saturday, November 7. Some consider the election to be a landslide, as Biden won the popular vote by almost 6 million votes and counting, according to Associated Press. However, others believe it to be a close call regarding the electoral votes, winning 290 electoral votes with Trump winning 232 electoral votes when networks called the election for Biden. However, as states were still being counted, as of now, Biden has 306 electoral votes, with Trump at a standstill with 232. 

As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris prepare to take office on Jan, 20, both made history winning this election.

Joe Biden broke the record for most votes received by a president, amassing over 74 million votes. This record was previously held by Barack Obama in 2008, when he received almost 69 and a half million votes, beating John McCain. This victory allowed for Biden to serve as Obama’s vice president for eight consecutive years. 

In his victory speech, Biden thanked his supporters for having his back throughout the campaign, also speaking directly to Trump voters, telling them he understands the disappointment of losing an election. Biden was “humbled by the trust and confidence you have placed in me. I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide, but to unify. Who doesn’t see red and blue states, but a United States. And who will work with all my heart to win the confidence of the whole people. For that is what America is about: the people.”

Biden asked for everyone to “give each other a chance. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To see each other again. To listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans.” After being elected amidst a global pandemic, in a country fighting the virus and racial injustice, Biden also added that “this is the time to heal in America.”

With Joe Biden having “had the audacity to break one of the most substantial barriers that exists in our country and select a woman as his vice president”, Kamala Harris was able to make history, becoming the first woman to be in the second-highest office of the land. Not only is she a role model for young girls across the country, but also for people-of-color in the US. 

In her victory speech, she mentions how though she “may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities and to the children of our country regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before.” Harris attributes her position and dedicates her success to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, who believed in “an America where a moment like this is possible.” 

Unfortunately, Biden and Harris’ success had been undermined by the dubious allegations that their win was influenced by fraud.

The controversy came to a head when President Trump accused the election, and its predicted results, of being falsified and incorrect, as he felt the mail-in ballots allowed for more probability of voter fraud. While this occurrence was possible, it is improbable, due to the fact that mail-in ballots are used every election, and manipulation of them have never previously been an issue until this year, as well as the fact that no substantial evidence has been given to prove their claims of voter fraud. 

Despite this overwhelming denial of the results, Biden, Harris, and their team have already begun preparing for their term, starting with a COVID-19 response plan, refusing to let Donald Trump deter them from their end goal.