The week following November 4^th was, put simply, hectic. With nail-bitingly close polls in swing states, flips, delays, and other drama, citizens of the United States from both sides of the political spectrum waited nervously for the results of this monumental election. It seemed people were checking their phones and TVs for updates regarding the election almost constantly the entire week. Though a few states are still too close to call or don’t have enough of the votes counted yet to call a clear winner at the time this is being written—including Georgia, Alaska, North Carolina, and depending on the source, Arizona and Nevada—the flipping of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania was enough for Joe Biden to be knocked above the 270 electoral vote mark and determined the winner of the race.

This election has seen more citizens come out to vote than any prior election in U.S. History. Both candidates have set records for the most votes a candidate has received, Biden having the first most with a number currently over 75,500,000 and Trump coming in with the second most votes a presidential candidate has received at over 71,000,000. The respective supporters felt very strongly about the outcome of this election and continue to. Though Biden has won enough states to name him President-elect, there have been numerous claims about voter fraud brought up by both President Donald Trump and other right-wing media. These claims are based around the overwhelmingly democratic mail in ballots which changed the outcome of several states. Trump has yet to concede or acknowledge Biden’s electoral victory and is even filing several lawsuits on the matter. Trump tweeted on November 6^th, “I had such a big lead in all of these states late into election night, only to see the leads miraculously disappear as the days went by. Perhaps these leads will return as our legal proceedings move forward!” and again on the day later, “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!”

Others argue that Trump’s claim about voter fraud is completely baseless. Even so, Trump is not likely to drop his claims according to Jill Collin of AP News, “Trump is not expected to formally concede, according to people close to him, but is likely to grudgingly vacate he White House at the end of his term. His ongoing efforts to paint the election as unfair are seen both as an effort to soothe a bruised ego and to show his loyal base of supporters that he is still fighting.” Though the dispute of legitimacy will be ongoing, most are accepting the election as fair because the consensus is that voter fraud as widespread as is claimed is nearly impossible to pull off, however there have been isolated cases of voting oddities from all parts of the United States. For example, minor miscounts, lost ballots, and other issues have occurred which makes it impossible to discount President Trump’s claim until a formal investigation or recount has taken place.

The problem with not Trump conceding is that incumbent presidents have historically aided their successors in completing a smooth transition of power. It seems that the aid will either be postponed until the conceding happens or possibly it will never come. Perhaps after court issues involving the alleged voter fraud are resolved, whether the ruling is in favor of Trump or Biden, the next president will have a clearer path in coming into office on January 20^th.