Several swing states such as Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have been vital to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of senators and representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the electoral college, in which the candidate who gets 270 votes or more wins.
President-elect Joe Biden captured Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which are three crucial battleground states. These swing states were all formally won by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. However, the outcomes this year were now democratically led by Joe Biden.
Pennsylvania was Biden’s biggest win that pushed him across the finish line, according to Business Insider. Biden secured 270 electoral votes, but winning Pennsylvania added another 20 electoral votes, enough to bring Biden well over the 270 threshold.
Georgia, now a swing state, was won by the Democratic candidate for the first time since the year 1992.
This major shift resulting in Georgia becoming a swing state has caused major disputes. Biden leads President Donald Trump by roughly 10,000 votes, resulting in a recounting of the 5 million total votes cast, state officials say.
Trump defeated Biden in his secure states, Florida and Texas, but these two state’s electoral votes were not enough to win.
Article by Margaret Georgiev of Walter Johnson High School
Graphic by Angelina Guhl of Richard Montgomery High School