Ebun Olowu
United States of America’s President-elect, Joe Biden, has received enough electoral votes to officially clinch the presidency, a major milestone that he reached when California’s electors awarded him the state’s 55 electoral votes at their meeting Monday in Sacramento.
It takes 270 electoral votes of the 538 available to become president.
The ballots were cast throughout the day by individual electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and they mirror their state’s popular vote.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. ET, California electors cast their 55 votes for Biden, pushing him over the crucial threshold of 270 electoral votes to 302. After Hawaii’s 4 votes are tallied later on Monday, Biden is projected to receive 306 electoral votes total. Donald Trump won 232 votes.
Biden plans to address the nation on Monday night, where he will emphasize that “the integrity of our elections remains intact.”
“And so, now it is time to turn the page. To unite. To heal,” Biden will say, according to speech excerpts released by the transition.
