USA TODAY’s coverage of the 2020 election and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition continues this week as he rolls out more of his picks for top jobs in his administration and prepares to take the oath of office Jan. 20. The Electoral College affirmed Biden’s win Monday, officially giving Biden enough electoral votes to defeat President Donald Trump. Congress will count and certify the results in a joint session Jan. 6.
Trump has cleared the way for Biden’s team to use federal resources and get briefings during the transition, although Trump has yet to formally concede the race and continues to challenge the results.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.
President-elect Joe Biden met online Wednesday with 31 governors and urged them to join his goals in the first 100 days of his administration to have everyone wear masks and to reopen most schools.
Biden has pledged to distribute 100 million vaccinations against COVID-19 during that period after taking office on Jan. 20. That would mean protecting 50 million people because everyone needs two shots. Biden acknowledged that it will take time to vaccinate more than 300 million people nationwide.
“It’s going to take the federal government, and working with you guys to decide what the best way to do it,” Biden told the governors on a Zoom call. “It’s going to require us to be clear with the American people about what to expect through this massive public education campaign,” and taking steps to reach underserved communities.
Also participating in the call were Jeff Zients, Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, his choice for surgeon general. Zients said Biden’s transition officials have been meeting with leaders at the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the vaccine-development team called Operation Warp Speed.
“It will be one of the greatest operational challenges our country has ever faced,” Zients said. “We’re meeting with the vaccine manufacturers, the testing companies, the pharmacies, the employers, unions and civil rights leaders and many more so we can incorporate their feedback and perspective.”
But Zients said governors are on the front lines in bringing the pandemic under control.
“You’re on the front lines and we need your expertise and experience to turn the tide,” Zients said.
Biden has said he’ll order people to wear masks in federal buildings and on interstate transportation such as planes, trains and buses.
If vaccinations and mask-wearing reduce the spread of the virus, Biden also urged governors to work toward reopening most schools during that period. He committed to pursue federal funding for equipment and training necessary.
“That’s going to take a lot of money, but we know how to do it,” Biden said. “We do everything from ventilation to more teachers, smaller class sizes, a whole range of things.”
Biden met online a month ago with members of both parties of the National Governors Association, saying he would work hand in glove with them.
“This road is going to be long and it’s going to be tough, but I want you to know this is not a one-off meeting,” Biden said.
Governors noted that it took eight months to distribute 100 million tests for the virus, but that vaccine will require reaching 330 million Americans.
Governors have sought financial aid during the economic downturn and for assistance in distributing vaccines for COVID-19. Governors were assembling lists of needs such as masks and testing equipment.
Biden has promised to provide federal funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard, to assist states in their response.
— Bart Jansen
Good luck getting tickets if you’re hoping to attend President-elect Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony next month.
Planners for the Jan. 20 ceremony on the Capitol’s West Front said Wednesday a limited number of tickets will be distributed because of concerns over public health and safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Traditionally, the congressional committee planning the event distributes 200,000 tickets for the official ceremony and provides ticket bundles to members of Congress to distribute to their constituents. But for the 59th Inaugural Ceremonies, invitations to Congress members will be limited to themselves and one guest, similar to the audience for a State of the Union address.
“The election of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect (Kamala) Harris was historic, and we know that many Americans would have wanted to attend the inauguration in person,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
But, “safety must be our top priority,” Klobuchar said.
Organizers are planning more opportunities to watch the ceremony online in addition to the traditional televised broadcast, said the committee’s chairman, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Even if you can’t attend, you might be able to get your hands on an inaugural souvenir. Commemorative ticket bundles and program packets will be made available to congressional offices for distribution to constituents following the ceremonies.
– Michael Collins
President-elect Joe Biden introduced Pete Buttigieg as his choice to lead the Transportation Department because of his vision and leadership to foster economic development.
Biden said Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would lead the economic recovery by restoring crumbling roads and bridges, convert vehicles to clean energy and lead “the second great railroad revolution.”
“Pete’s got a great perspective of a mayor that solves problems and brings people together,” Biden said at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware. “He’s got a vision of a next-generation leader with the experience and the temperament to lead change today, to dig us out of this economic crisis.”
Buttigieg continued Biden’s priority for a diverse cabinet. He would be the first openly gay cabinet nominee to be sent to the Senate for confirmation.
Buttigieg recalled at 17 watching on television how one of former President Bill Clinton’s nominees for an ambassadorship to Luxembourg, James Hormel, was attacked in the Senate before he served as a recess appointment.
“I learned something about some of the limits that exist in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong. But just as important, I saw how those limits could be challenged,” Buttigieg said. “Two decades later, I can’t help but think of a 17-year-old somewhere who might be watching us right now, somebody who wonders whether and where they belong in the world or even in their own family. I’m thinking about the message that today’s announcement is sending to them.”
Buttigieg said he always thought of travel as synonymous with growth, adventure and even love. He proposed to his husband Chasten at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that O’Hare isn’t romantic,” Buttigieg said.
Buttigieg served eight years as mayor before campaigning for president. He talked about rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges, and revived regional rail service. He said he also worked to increase bicycle mobility and to create infrastructure for electric vehicles.
“At its best, transportation makes the American dream possible, getting people and goods to where they need to be,” Buttigieg said. “At its worst, misguided policies and missed opportunities can reinforce racial, economic and environmental injustice.”
Buttigieg previously served as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. He graduated from Harvard University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
– Bart Jansen
President-elect Joe Biden still plans to get the coronavirus vaccine in public, but doesn’t want to cut ahead of higher-priority recipients such as health care workers.
“We’re working on that right now. I don’t want to get to the head of the line,” Biden told reporters Wednesday at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware. “But I want to make sure that we want to demonstrate to the American people that it’s safe to take. They’re working on that right now. When I do it, I’ll do it publicly so you all can actually witness my getting it done.”
Biden on Wednesday also reaffirmed his confidence that his son Hunter Biden has done nothing wrong. Hunter Biden announced last week that the U.S. attorney in Delaware was under investigating his taxes and Republicans have called for a special counsel to be appointed.
“I am confident,” Biden said.
Biden praised congressional progress on a stimulus package, but only as a down payment toward greater spending in 2021.
“The stimulus package is encouraging. It looks like they’re very, very close. It looks like there’s going to be direct cash payments,” Biden said. “It’s a down payment, an important down payment on what’s going to have to be done at the end of January into February. It’s very important to get done. I compliment the bipartisan group on working together to get it done.”
– Bart Jansen
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Gina McCarthy, former Environmental Protection Agency chief under the Obama administration, to fill the newly created post of White House climate adviser, according to several media reports.
In McCarthy, 66, who has spent the past year as president and chief executive officer of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Biden has tapped a fierce advocate for policies to combat climate change.
At EPA, she was an architect of the sweeping Clean Power Plan that President Barack Obama proposed to limit carbon emissions from aging coal-fired power plants that contribute to the warming of the planet. The regulations were blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016 on a 5-4 vote before they could be enacted.
Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, commended Biden not only for creating the position of what’s being dubbed the “climate czar,” but also for picking McCarthy to fill it.
“She understands how government works,” Krupp said in a statement. “She spearheaded scientifically and legally solid actions to protect Americans from unhealthy air, dirty water, and the clear and present danger of climate change – all while navigating past climate denialism. She has all the tools and talents needed to be a great domestic climate advisor in an administration that’s poised for progress.”
Biden has made combatting climate change a top priority, including rejoining the Paris climate accord, reversing Trump administration rollbacks that have benefitted the fossil fuel industry, and spending billions in developing clean energy.
He already has named former Secretary of State John Kerry a “special envoy” to work on climate change abroad. McCarthy’s role will be to promote such policies and strategies domestically.
Biden also is expected to name former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who promoted green energy development during her eight years in office, as his new Energy secretary.
– Ledyard King
Joe Biden declares ‘clear victory,’ Sen. Mitch McConnell congratulates him
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated president-elect Joe Biden on winning the presidency.
Staff video, USA TODAY
Trump to McConnell: ‘Too soon to give up’ on the election
Less than a day after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden won the election, President Donald Trump — who has refused to recognize the legitimate electoral results — told the longtime senator in a tweet that it’s “too soon to give up.”
The Electoral College met nationwide Monday and formally awarded Biden 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 based on the certified Nov. 3 election results, which affirmed Biden’s victory.
McConnell — who previously refused to publicly admit Trump lost — said Tuesday: “The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden.”
Early Wednesday, Trump directly addressed the Kentuckian in a tweet.
“Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up,” Trump said on Twitter. “Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!”
Biden said in a statement Tuesday that the Transportation Department is at the nexus of the interlocking challenges of jobs, infrastructure, equity and climate change that he has promised to address.
“I trust Mayor Pete to lead this work with focus, decency, and a bold vision,” Biden said. “He will bring people together to get big things done.”
Buttigieg is scheduled to appear with Biden Wednesday for a formal announcement. On Twitter, he called the nomination a “tremendous opportunity – to create jobs, meet the climate challenge, and enhance equity for all.”
Granholm, 61, was attorney general of Michigan from 1999 to 2003 and the 47th Governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011. She was the first woman to serve as Michigan’s governor, where she made clean energy development a hallmark of her administration.
President-elect Joe Biden urged Georgia voters Tuesday to support Democrats in two Senate runoff campaigns challenging incumbent Republicans who represent “road-blocks” against his agenda in the chamber.
“I need two senators from this state who want to get something done, not two senators who are just going to get in the way,” Biden told a drive-in rally where supporters cheered and honked their horns. “Are you ready to vote for two senators who are doers and not road-blocks?”
Supporters lined the street with signs that said, “Hope Restored,” and “keep Georgia blue.”
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are each in separate runoff races to hold onto their seats, with voting ending Jan. 5. They are being challenged by Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, respectively.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is promising a directive banning “biological boys” from using school changing rooms with “biological girls” if re-elected, a move the NDP’s Carla Beck says weaponizes vulnerable kids.
Moe made the pledge Thursday at a campaign stop in Regina. He said it was in response to a complaint that two biological males had changed for gym class with girls at a school in southeast Saskatchewan.
He said the ban would be his first order of business if he’s voted again as premier on Oct. 28.
It was not previously included in his party’s campaign platform document.
“I’ll be very clear, there will be a directive that would come from the minister of education that would say that biological boys will not be in the change room with biological girls,” Moe said.
He added school divisions should already have change room policies, but a provincial directive would ensure all have the rule in place.
Asked about the rights of gender-diverse youth, Moe said other children also have rights.
“What about the rights of all the other girls that are changing in that very change room? They have rights as well,” he said, followed by cheers and claps.
The complaint was made at a school with the Prairie Valley School Division. The division said in a statement it doesn’t comment on specific situations that could jeopardize student privacy and safety.
“We believe all students should have the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and welcoming learning environment,” it said.
“Our policies and procedures align with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.”
Asked about Moe’s proposal, Beck said it would make vulnerable kids more vulnerable.
Moe is desperate to stoke fear and division after having a bad night during Wednesday’s televised leaders’ debate, she said.
“Saskatchewan people, when we’re at our best, are people that come together and deliver results, not divisive, ugly politics like we’ve seen time and again from Scott Moe and the Sask. Party,” Beck said.
“If you see leaders holding so much power choosing to punch down on vulnerable kids, that tells you everything you need to know about them.”
Beck said voters have more pressing education issues on their minds, including the need for smaller classrooms, more teaching staff and increased supports for students.
People also want better health care and to be able to afford gas and groceries, she added.
“We don’t have to agree to understand Saskatchewan people deserve better,” Beck said.
The Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation last year that requires parents consent to children under 16 using different names or pronouns at school.
The law has faced backlash from some LGBTQ+ advocates, who argue it violates Charter rights and could cause teachers to out or misgender children.
Beck has said if elected her party would repeal that legislation.
Heather Kuttai, a former commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission who resigned last year in protest of the law, said Moe is trying to sway right-wing voters.
She said a change room directive would put more pressure on teachers who already don’t have enough educational support.
“It sounds like desperation to me,” she said.
“It sounds like Scott Moe is nervous about the election and is turning to homophobic and transphobic rhetoric to appeal to far-right voters.
“It’s divisive politics, which is a shame.”
She said she worries about the future of gender-affirming care in a province that once led in human rights.
“We’re the kind of people who dig each other out of snowbanks and not spew hatred about each other,” she said. “At least that’s what I want to still believe.”
Also Thursday, two former Saskatchewan Party government members announced they’re endorsing Beck — Mark Docherty, who retired last year and was a Speaker, and Glen Hart, who retired in 2020.
Ian Hanna, a speech writer and senior political adviser to former Saskatchewan Party premier Brad Wall, also endorsed Beck.
Earlier in the campaign, Beck received support from former Speaker Randy Weekes, who quit the Saskatchewan Party earlier this year after accusing caucus members of bullying.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s provincial election is on Oct. 28. Here’s a look at some of the campaign promises made by the two major parties:
Saskatchewan Party
— Continue withholding federal carbon levy payments to Ottawa on natural gas until the end of 2025.
— Reduce personal income tax rates over four years; a family of four would save $3,400.
— Double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year and the benefit for children with disabilities to $400 a year.
— Direct all school divisions to ban “biological boys” from girls’ change rooms in schools.
— Increase the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit to $15,000 from $10,000.
— Reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax Credit, allowing homeowners to claim up to $4,000 in renovation costs on their income taxes; seniors could claim up to $5,000.
— Extend coverage for insulin pumps and diabetes supplies to seniors and young adults
— Provide a 50 per cent refundable tax credit — up to $10,000 — to help cover the cost of a first fertility treatment.
— Hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more officers with the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
— Amend legislation to provide police with more authority to address intoxication, vandalism and disturbances on public property.
— Platform cost of $1.2 billion, with deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in 2027.
—
NDP
— Pause the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax for six months, saving an average family about $350.
— Remove the provincial sales tax from children’s clothes and ready-to-eat grocery items like rotisserie chickens and granola bars.
— Pass legislation to limit how often and how much landlords can raise rent.
— Repeal the law that requires parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school.
— Launch a provincewide school nutrition program.
— Build more schools and reduce classroom sizes.
— Hire 800 front-line health-care workers in areas most in need.
— Launch an accountability commission to investigate cost overruns for government projects.
— Scrap the marshals service.
— Hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.
— Platform cost of $3.5 billion, with small deficits in the first three years and a small surplus in the fourth year.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct .17, 2024.
VANCOUVER – More than a million British Columbians have already cast their provincial election ballots, smashing the advance voting record ahead of what weather forecasters say will be a rain-drenched election day in much of B.C., with snow also predicted for the north.
Elections BC said Thursday that 1,001,331 people had cast ballots in six days of advance voting, easily breaking a record set during the pandemic election four years ago.
More than 28 per cent of all registered electors have voted, potentially putting the province on track for a big final turnout on Saturday.
“It reflects what I believe, which is this election is critically important for the future of our province,” New Democrat Leader David Eby said Thursday at a news conference in Vancouver. “I understand why British Columbians are out in numbers. We haven’t seen questions like this on the ballot in a generation.”
He said voters are faced with the choice of supporting his party’s plans to improve affordability, public health care and education, while the B.C. Conservatives, led by John Rustad, are proposing to cut services and are fielding candidates who support conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic and espouse racist views.
Rustad held no public availabilities on Thursday.
Elections BC said the record advance vote tally includes about 223,000 people who voted on the final day of advance voting Wednesday, the last day of advance polls, shattering the one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 40,000 votes.
The previous record for advance voting in a B.C. election was set in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when about 670,000 people voted early, representing about 19 per cent of registered voters.
Some ridings have now seen turnout of more than 35 per cent, including in NDP Leader David Eby’s Vancouver-Point Grey riding where 36.5 per cent of all electors have voted.
There has also been big turnout in some Vancouver Island ridings, including Oak Bay-Gordon Head, where 39 per cent of electors have voted, and Victoria-Beacon Hill, where Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau is running, with 37.2 per cent.
Advance voter turnout in Rustad’s riding of Nechako Lakes was 30.5 per cent.
Total turnout in 2020 was 54 per cent, down from about 61 per cent in 2017.
Stewart Prest, a political science lecturer at the University of British Columbia, said many factors are at play in the advance voter turnout.
“If you have an early option, if you have an option where there are fewer crowds, fewer lineups that you have to deal with, then that’s going to be a much more desirable option,” said Prest.
“So, having the possibility of voting across multiple advanced voting days is something that more people are looking to as a way to avoid last-minute lineups or heavy weather.”
Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.
Environment Canada said the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.
Eby said the forecast of an atmospheric weather storm on election day will become a “ballot question” for some voters who are concerned about the approaches the parties have towards addressing climate change.
But he said he is confident people will not let the storm deter them from voting.
“I know British Columbians are tough and they’re not going to let even an atmospheric river stop them from voting,” said Eby.
In northern B.C., heavy snow is in the forecast starting Friday and through to Saturday for areas along the Yukon boundary.
Elections BC said it will focus on ensuring it is prepared for bad weather, said Andrew Watson, senior director of communications.
“We’ve also been working with BC Hydro to make sure that they’re aware of all of our voting place locations so that they can respond quickly if there are any power outages,” he said.
Elections BC also has paper backups for all of its systems in case there is a power outage, forcing them to go through manual procedures, Watson said.
Prest said the dramatic downfall of the Official Opposition BC United Party just before the start of the campaign and voter frustration could also be contributing to the record size of the advance vote.
It’s too early to say if the province is experiencing a “renewed enthusiasm for voting,” he said.
“As a political scientist, I think it would be a good thing to see, but I’m not ready to conclude that’s what we are seeing just yet,” he said, adding, “this is one of the storylines to watch come Saturday.”
Overall turnout in B.C. elections has generally been dwindling compared with the 71.5 per cent turnout for the 1996 vote.
Adam Olsen, Green Party campaign chair, said the advance voting turnout indicates people are much more engaged in the campaign than they were in the weeks leading up to the start of the campaign in September.
“All we know so far is that people are excited to go out and vote early,” he said. “The real question will be does that voter turnout stay up throughout election night?”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said more than 180,000 voters cast their votes on Wednesday.
