For many Americans, the first week of November 2020 will live in infamy as one of the longest stretches of time in our country’s history. Eager Americans remained glued to their television and phone screens as results slowly poured in from the election. With the opportunity to flip the Democratic House of Representatives, the Republican Senate, and potentially provide the country with a new president, tensions remained high until results finally began to become apparent.
La Crosse County saw great turnout, with Citizen Action of La Crosse stating that 88% of eligible voters in the area participated in the election. One of the more highly contended elections from the La Crosse area was between Brad Pfaff and Dan Kapanke, both running for a seat in Wisconsin’s State Senate. In the end, due to an overwhelming number of votes from the La Crosse area, the seat went to Democratic Candidate Brad Pfaff.
While this Wisconsin State Senate seat was declared relatively soon, the presidential election was not. The race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden was remarkably close and, due to the vast number of absentee voters, it was not until four days after the election that a projected winner could be announced. Important swing states such as Nevada, Georgia, and Arizona kept the American people waiting on the edge of their seats, but it was not until the state of Pennsylvania was finally projected that a candidate reached the necessary 270 electoral votes. This honor went to Biden.
“I was so relieved,” an anonymous student shared about the results. “Me and my roommates had spent hours in front of our laptops waiting for votes to come in. When I woke up on Saturday and saw we had an answer, I nearly cried from joy.” This student had been rooting for Biden and was elated by the news.
Another anonymous student shared, “I was not happy with what I saw,” adding, “after a week of waiting, it was hard to watch President Trump’s lead slowly disappear.” While the student was disappointed by the results, they were happy that Americans finally had an answer. “At least this is finally over, and we can start looking at whatever comes next.”
As of the writing of this article, President Trump has not formally conceded. His administration plans on investigating potential voter fraud in areas in key battleground states. No such evidence has been found or confirmed, so for the time being, the country plans on inaugurating Joseph R. Biden as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021.
