The college’s students recall the night of Nov 3rd and how the election progressed overnight.

By: Sabrina Benet, Christopher Claxton, Ysenia Gonzalez, Sheldon Briscoe, Daria Tropiano, Nicole Pologruto and Nicholas Kuzar

This article and polling data were originally submitted on November 3, 2020. 

On November 3rd, CSI students stayed up anxiously watching the Presidential Race between candidates Donald Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr. The polls began closing at 6 p.m. Eastern in parts of Kentucky and Indiana, followed by the first results soon after that.

The 2020 United States Presidential Election had the highest voter turnout in history and it is projected that 159.8 million Americans had cast their ballot. This voter turnout is the highest it has been since the 1900s.

The path to the presidency had the potential to shape early on for either candidate, however, uncertainty continues to linger as the days go on.

-8:00- 

Election results are slowly coming in, news organizations focus on information surrounding the election.    

This year’s voting is at an all-time high which makes the election even harder to follow. There’s an influx in mail ballots, in-person early voting, and Election Day voting, which will mean a long night ahead. CNN’s Zachary B. Wolf discussed the potential of results changing dramatically as the evening wore on, that the election could go either way based on early voting, based on the so-called “blue shift.” 

“Joe Biden might need to do something different tonight,” said Abby Philip, CNN political correspondent. “He might need to cobble together more older voters, more suburban women, more non-college educated men in order to win in some of the places he needs to win—like a Pennsylvania.”  

-9:00- 

It is Going to Be Long Week Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan may take days to settle

Early polling results for Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan remain inconclusive, as there is a strong divide between in person and mailing voting. At around 9pm MSNBC reported Biden leading Trump in Pennsylvania statewide 64.3% to34.9%, but current results are misleading.

Multiple counties in Pennsylvania have different methods of counting votes. Some count same day voting first, and others count mail in votes first. Counties that count mail in votes first show Biden leading while other counties that count in person voting first favor Trump.

The different processing methods are leading to slower vote counts.  The Consensus is there will be no concrete result for Pennsylvania tonight.   Biden leads with 75.2% to Trumps 24.8% in Wisconsin where only 25% of votes have been counted. 

In North Carolina we see the same trend, as mail -in votes favor Biden and same day votes favor Trump. With 93% of the votes in, Trump has taken the lead in Florida. 

“It may take six days to figure out who wins the election,” said Robert Gibbs, who served as Press Secretary under President Obama. “Florida is a tough, tough place.”    

 -10:00- 

Biden and Trump are neck and neck throughout the 9-10 pm hour Trump successfully flips multiple states that were trending blue for hours. 

The race is still up in the air and could swing either way. The hour began with Florida being a projected victory for President Trump, which would give him another twenty nine electoral votes in addition to the ninety two he already has.

Biden has already won Illinois, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island while Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama had been called for Trump. 

As the 10:00 hour approached, both CNN and FOX projected the same electoral map with the same projections. However, they’re both optimistic about their respective candidate. FOX News’ Chris Wallace believes that Trump could win while CNN’s John King believes that Biden has multiple clear paths to victory.    

-11:00- 

Networks and Analysts Gearing Up for Long Night Ahead 

Uncertainty remains. “We’ve got to watch this throughout the night,” said John King, as he swayed his hands before the big board at CNN. “Not knowing the results tonight does not mean the system is broken,” said George Stephanopoulos, at ABC News.

“It does not mean it’s unfair.” And one certainty: “If Joe Biden is elected president, it is going to be on the basis of women,” said Chris Wallace, at Fox. “There is a huge gender gap.”  

And past midnight …. 

The Associated Press and The Washington Post have declared Biden the winner of Arizona, but CBS refuses to declare either candidate the victor, claiming the race is still too close to call. 

Meanwhile, Fox put a spotlight on Florida, with several anchors like Lindsey Ingraham and Tucker Carlson believing it to be key to a Trump victory. “

Florida is the future of this country,” said Tucker Carlson. “Not because it is multiethnic, because it obviously is, but because that’s where people are moving” 

Past Midnight, Biden went live with a speech to his supporters, thanking them for their patience and reassuring that it will be worth it in the long run.

“Keep the faith, guys, we’re going to win this.”

On November 4th:

Joe Biden won two extremely critical states, Wisconsin and Michigan, the Midwest states that were in Trumps favor for the 2016 election. President Trump and his campaign threaten with legal action while their path to victory narrows.

Despite claiming these states, the race is not over. Biden’s lead narrows in Arizona, prompting Trump’s supporters to protest outside of the vote-counting office. Arizona, called by The Associated Press and Fox news early on Tuesday is currently not official, with sources like CNN stating votes are still being counted.

The last remaining states are currently Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Biden is currently leading Nevada and it expected voted will be finalized today around noon EST.