The 2020 election has been extremely modified in order to work around the COVID-19 pandemic. Different options to turn in ballots and vote were given to all Americans around the nation.

The option to vote early in the 2020 election was made available to North Carolina residents up until Oct. 31. Voting by mail and requesting a ballot was also an option for North Carolinians up until Oct. 27.

With these new options, counting the votes and knowing the President of the United States would be pushed back. The President would be not announced until all the votes, whether in-person or by mail, were counted in all 50 states.

By Nov. 4 almost all states had their final results accounted for. The states of Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alaska and Georgia were the last five states to count votes.

Predictions of the next President arose when the states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, who had been labeled as “red states” suddenly turned “blue” on Nov. 7. These states giving their electoral vote to Biden meant that he surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

On Nov. 7, The Associated Press announced that Joe Biden had won 284 electoral votes. Biden won the election against Republican candidate Donald Trump and was named the 46th President of the United States.

“We have won with the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket in the history of this nation — 74 million,” Biden said in his victory speech Saturday night. “I am 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 the United States.”

Biden ran with Kamala Harris as his Vice President. Harris is now the first female, black, South Asian Vice President-elect ever in the history of the United States.

Controversy has risen since Biden was officially named the next President. Whether mail-in ballots are tapped, how did the colors of the states’ changed so quickly, and if Trump is going to file against the election results are among discussed topics about the 2020 election.

In North Carolina, Trump won the state with over  2.7 million votes. Biden came close by winning 2.6 million votes, only about 100,000 less than Trump. North Carolina is known as a swing-state, meaning every election the party that wins could either be Republican or Democratic, neither party holds a higher position.

Along with voting for the U.S. President, state representatives were included on the 2020 ballots in North Carolina. The U.S. Senate and NC Governor were voted for on Nov. 3.

Roy Cooper from the Democratic Party won the NC Governor election with over 2.8 million votes. Cooper has been the Governor of NC since 2017. 

“Serving in this office has been the honor of my life,” Cooper said during his victory speech at the North Carolina Democratic Party headquarters in Raleigh. “I’m grateful and humbled to people who trusted me to continue the progress that we’ve already made here.”

Thom Tillis from the Republican party won the NC Senate election with over 2.6 million votes. Tillis has been the North Carolina representative in the U.S. Senate since 2015.