US Electoral College confirms Joe Biden as election winner

Joe Biden has crossed the 270-vote mark to be formally elected as next US president by the Electoral College.

Biden reached the milestone on Monday with California's 55 votes. After Hawaii then added its tally, Biden reached 306 votes. Outgoing President Donald Trump received 232.

"In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed," Biden said in a speech after the Electoral College confirmed his victory. "We the people voted. Faith in our institutions held. The integrity of our elections remains intact."

Confronting Trump's fraud claims

Trump, who has refuted the election results for weeks, continued to make claims that the election was rigged on Monday. In a tweet, he said an unreleased report of voting in a Michigan county could be an "election changing result." The claim was flagged by Twitter as disputed.

Biden confronted Trump's accusations and lawsuits across several states, which have attempted to reject the election results.

"It's a position so extreme we've never seen it before. A position that refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law and refused to honor our constitution," said Biden.

Biden also condemned the threats of violence against election officials.

"It is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election," he said.

What is the Electoral College?

The Electoral College has taken on a more important role in 2020 as Trump has so far refused to concede the election.

The Electoral College is the 538 electors from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the same number of representatives and senators in Congress. They typically meet in their respective state capitals and vote for president and vice president.

Every state and DC except Maine and Nebraska work under a winner-take-all policy, where the candidate with the most votes in their state receives the entire allotment. Each state's Electoral College vote allotment is determined by its population from the census taken every 10 years.

Maine and Nebraska have two electors that select the candidate with the most votes statewide, and each Congressional district selects its own elector who will support the district's choice. Maine had three Electoral College votes for Biden and one for Trump, while Nebraska saw four electors support Trump and one go for Biden.

What happens next?

Congress will meet on January 6 to certify the Electoral College votes.

President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are due to be sworn in at noon on January 20, 2021.

kbd/rt (AP, AFP, dpa)