As most Americans went to bed on Election Day, November 3, 2020, there were few key pieces of information to indicate the outcome of the most contested Presidential election in modern history. The facts that were known included a record number of early votes across the country, a record breaking 14 billion dollars in campaign spending, and record breaking turnout across the country. Despite these facts, the Presidential race remained undecided on Election Day. Given the early distribution of the electoral map on Election Day, victory depended on the outcome of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. These three states, known as both the “Rust Belt” and, prior to 2016, the “Blue Wall,” could not be called by election officials until the massive number of mail-in and absentee votes were counted. This process was further complicated by seemingly contradictory U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the days leading up to the election. While Wisconsin was only permitted to count those ballots received by Election Day, Pennsylvania was permitted to count ballots postmarked by Election Day but received by no later than Friday, November 6, 2020. 

While most Americans went to bed on Election Day looking at a mostly red map, by the early morning hours of November 4, 2020, the map began to change. Despite President Trump’s attempt to declare victory at 2:30 a.m. on November 4, the counting of mail in and early cast ballots began to show their impact, and the map started to turn blue. By the time Parker History Teachers Anthony Shaker and Andrew Bigelow hosted their “teach-in” during lunch on November 4, Michigan and Wisconsin had turned blue. Certain news outlets, but not all, had also called Arizona for Vice President Biden and Senator Harris. At this point, the Biden ticket needed 17 more electoral votes to declare victory. The Trump ticket, however, needed to capture all four remaining states – Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania – to achieve the magic 270 electoral college votes. Topics in advisory meetings and the lunch teach-in focused on the current status of the election and the potential court disputes, as students continued to grapple with an unresolved election. 

The presidential election remained uncalled for either President Trump or Vice President Biden until November 7, 2020 at 11:30 a.m.. With Pennsylvania reporting another small batch of results, news outlets across the world declared that former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris had won Pennsylvania and, consequently, the race for the White House. For the first time since 1992, the United States would have a one term president. The state of Nevada was also called for the Biden-Harris ticket, with Georgia and Arizona remaining outstanding but appearing to be leaning for former Vice President Biden. Although the Trump campaign staged a press conference in front of Four Seasons Landscaping –surrounded by a crematorium and an adult toy store — to vow to dispute the results in court, there was an immediate change in titles for the Biden-Harris ticket. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris won the 2020 Election. They spoke to the nation on November 7 to begin a new era of governance in the United States. 

With the election results finally determined, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris addressed the nation on November 7 from Biden’s home state of Delaware. Despite President-elect Biden’s attempt to unify the nation, President Trump and other key Republican figures refuse to acknowledge the election results. Despite this state of denial, cities across the country erupted in celebration at the news of Biden’s victory. In Chicago, car horns and cheers of joy were heard throughout the city. Chicago mayor, Lori Lightfoot, took to the streets to celebrate “Getting our Country back.” Students at Parker reacted similarly, celebrating the Biden presidency. Many Parker students posted to their Instagram and Snapchat stories to show their support for President-elect Biden. “I was really excited when I heard the news. I was biking home and saw people on the street celebrating,” sophomore Mollie Gross said. “I had been very nervous about the outcome of the election, far before Election Day, so it (a Biden victory) was a huge relief.” 

Parker teachers were also on “pins and needles all of last (Election) week — really, for the past four years!! — regarding the outcome of the election,” said Upper School teacher Jeanne Barr.  “It seemed to me a clear point of inflection — either we would continue down the path of incivility, climate change denial, and other egregious shatterings of our political norms, or we would have a chance to reclaim the ground of decency.  To me, a whole lot was at stake in this election. I really agreed with Joe Biden that ‘character was on the ballot.” Barr’s opinions were widely endorsed by other teachers throughout the Parker community. 

Middle School History teacher Anthony Shaker shared a view similar to Barr. “It was nerve-wracking to have to wait a few days to get the final result (though there are still a few states undecided), the process, overall, seemed to work. Not only did it work, but it worked pretty smoothly and with unprecedented turnout. A great deal of credit needs to go to (the) Secretary of State’s offices around the country and the people who managed and risked their health in order to count the ballots.” 

The historic nature of the 2020 election will not soon be forgotten. Between Trump’s scorched-earth campaign style, the first woman to be elected on a major ticket, record turnout, and the threat of a deadly virus, there were many lessons to learn. With the controversial nature of President Donald Trump, numerous political scholars and news media outlets questioned if this election was a vote against Trump or a vote for Biden. “I think voters were able to get a clear contrast in style, policy, experience, attitude, etc…” Shaker said. “I think the pandemic and the President [Trump’s] handling of it, particularly the manner in which he handled his office and his own health when he had COVID-19, along with the rising cases in all regions of the country, likely hurt his candidacy in a major way.” 

Freshman Benjamin Kagan shared that he supported Biden because of his “sensible policies and character, not because I hated Trump. I thought Biden did a nice job appealing to the far left wing of the party by including Kamala Harris on the ticket.” Vice President elect Harris also made history as she was the first woman, and woman of color, to be elected on a major ticket.  

While it is unknown if Harris had a major impact on the outcome of the election, Harris is a sign of change in a divided country. “I’m not sure if Kamala Harris impacted the result (VP’s generally don’t impact outcomes all that much), but I do think that she’ll be a major force in the Biden administration,” Shaker said. “She (Harris) has life experiences sharply different to Biden, and her work as a prosecutor, California Attorney General, and Senator gives her a wealth of experience to shape the Biden agenda. Biden will be 78 when he becomes President, so it’s important to consider her qualifications…it’s important to note the importance, too, of having the first woman, first African-American, and first South Asian person in the second highest position in the country,” said Shaker. Barr shared a nearly identical view to her colleague in the history department. “Choosing her was historic and a signal that Biden will be the most inclusive and barrier-breaking leader he can be. She is a rock star,” Barr said. 

While the consensus is that the Biden administration is a sign of significant change, it remains unclear how the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will behave. “I imagine there will be a series of failed lawsuits and denialism about the election — unsubstantiated claims of fraud, etc.” Barr said. Shaker agreed with Barr when saying, “I’m totally unsure about how the President will respond. He does not strike me as someone who will concede, and if he does, then he’d do it on his own terms rather than by the precedent set by losing candidates from the past. He will no doubt try to protect his brand as a ‘winner,’ both to preserve his own legacy but looking forward to his future work as a businessman. My hope is that he can do this without encouraging violence and unrest from his supporters. The temperature in the country is very hot right now, and we all need leaders in the country to set a tone of calm and cooperation moving forward.” 

While Shaker hopes for tensions to calm, many students see parallels to the 2000 election. In 2000, Al Gore declared victory on election night, yet 36 days later, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision that resulted in George Bush winning the State of Florida, and consequently, the Electoral College. While many conservative outlets believe the Supreme Court could intervene again, it remains unlikely. “In this election Biden, clearly won more states than Gore did to Bush. Due to that, I can’t see a second term of Donald Trump,” said sophomore Lucas Daskal. Both Shaker and Barr shared similar viewpoints as Daskal. “I don’t think there will be a repeat of Bush v. Gore, which was about stopping a recount of ballots cast.” Barr said. “Now, there’s no equivalent because even if they recount Wisconsin and flip the result, Wisconsin alone isn’t enough to change the result in the Electoral College.  Trump would have to overturn the results in multiple states to change the outcome, and I don’t see how he would have a legal path to do so, and I don’t see the Supreme Court getting involved in that after the blowback they received for interfering in 2000.” Shaker shared a similar viewpoint, noting “the (Supreme) Court can only intervene if a case is brought before them, and for this election there would have to be so many different cases since so many different states are involved. I don’t believe that the Court would lump all of them together since there isn’t a similar legal issue at play in all of the different states. From what I’ve heard so far, most of the legal challenges have been dismissed for lack of evidence, so it appears that Trump’s strategy of using the court system to overturn the results will not go very far.” 

With no evidence to date, and cases dismissed in Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, credible news organizations, such as NBC, have reported that President Trump may be coming to terms with the results of the election. However, the mercurial nature of Donald Trump and the entire Trump administration leaves the nation wondering if these reports are true. Without some type of sudden and unexpected legal action, and regardless of whether Trump officially concedes, a new chapter in American history begins on January 20, 2021 with the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr.