Joe Biden wins US election, beats Donald Trump to become 46th American president

It’s official. Democrat Joe Biden has at last passed the threshold needed to win the election and will be the next US president.

Joe Biden has won the US election, and will become the 46th president of the United States.

The Democratic nominee passed the required threshold of 270 electoral votes on Saturday morning, US time, after he was declared the winner in the key state of Pennsylvania.

A short time later, Nevada reported a new batch of votes from Clark County, and it was enough for multiple networks to call that state as well.

The other undecided states technically don’t matter now. Mr Biden no longer needs them. But if he can win them, pushing his margin of victory beyond a single state, it will insulate his victory from the possibility of legal action from Donald Trump.

Mr Biden’s lead in Georgia, which hasn’t voted for a Democrat since 1992, has grown to more than 7000. But we already now there will be a recount there, so don’t expect the networks to call it for some time yet.

The Trump campaign remains convinced it will end up winning Arizona, though Fox News and The Associated Press both stand by their decision to declare Mr Biden the winner there. He leads by 29,000, and the President needs about 60 per cent of the outstanding vote to catch up.

Then there’s North Carolina, where Donald Trump is up by a fairly comfortable 75,000 votes, but we aren’t expecting any significant updates for a few days yet.

RELATED: Follow our live coverage of the election

America, I’m honored that you have chosen me to lead our great country.

The work ahead of us will be hard, but I promise you this: I will be a President for all Americans — whether you voted for me or not.

I will keep the faith that you have placed in me. pic.twitter.com/moA9qhmjn8

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 7, 2020

We did it, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/oCgeylsjB4

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020

“I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in vice President-elect Harris,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

“In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America.

“With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation.

“It’s time for America to unite. And to heal.

“We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.”

Mr Biden is expected to address the American people in the coming hours.

RELATED: US erupts over election result

There are wild scenes in the US over Joe Biden’s election victory. Picture: Kena Betancur / AFP

Attention quickly turned to President Trump, and whether he would concede defeat. The answer was no.

The Trump campaign released a statement from the President, repeating his baseless claims about fraud in the election results.

“We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him. They don’t want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Mr Trump said.

“Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.

“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated.

“The American people are entitled to an honest election. This means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election.

“It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters.

“What is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American people have the honest vote count they deserve and that democracy demands.”

RELATED: Kamala Harris makes history as first woman elected US vice president

The Biden campaign is not calling for fraudulent ballots to be counted. It is calling on the Trump campaign to produce evidence to back up its claims of fraud.

So far, it has produced no such evidence.

Mr Trump claimed to have “already won” on election night, and has since falsely claimed victory in states actually won by Mr Biden.

“I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST,” the President said on Twitter earlier in the week.

“The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. US Supreme Court should decide!”

This claim is false. While the Trump campaign did win a small legal victory in Pennsylvania, which allowed its election observers to stand a few feet closer to election workers, observers from both major parties have been allowed inside all counting centres.

In any case, whatever his stance on the matter, Mr Trump will remain President until Inauguration Day on January 20. Once Mr Biden is sworn in by the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice John Roberts, the powers of the office will pass to him.

RELATED: Trump’s baseless claims about the election results

Donald Trump speaking at the White House yesterday. He made a number of baseless claims about the election results. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

The Democrats’ victory in this election also means the United States will have its first female vice president in history, Kamala Harris.

Mr Biden and Ms Harris will face significant challenges as they take office, not least of which will be managing a deeply divided country.

More than 69 million Americans voted for Mr Trump, and the President has so far shown no indication that he intends to facilitate a smooth transition.

The country is also in the midst of a massive surge in cases of the coronavirus, with more than 120,000 infections reported yesterday. That was the third day in a row of 100,000 cases or more.

The virus has killed more than 230,000 Americans, including 1200 yesterday.

Mr Biden can also expect to find the US government divided along partisan lines. While the Democrats will hold both the White House and the House of Representatives, the Republicans appear to have done enough to maintain control of the Senate, pending a pair of special elections in Georgia.

The president-elect’s self-described talent for making deals across the political aisle will be thoroughly tested.

More to come.