Trump-Biden transition: Attorney Sidney Powell back at White House

Powell has pushed Trump to issue an executive order to seize voting machines.

Last Updated: December 21, 2020, 10:34 AM EST

President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 31 days.

Dec 14, 2020, 3:46 PM EST

Michigan, last of six key battlegrounds to vote, finalizes Biden's victory

In Michigan, the last of the six contested battlegrounds to vote Monday, where the electors were escorted by police into the state Capitol amid security concerns and "credible threats of violence," 16 electors cast their votes for Biden, finalizing his win in the state.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is escorted to the entrance of the Michigan State Capitol, Dec. 14, 2020, in Lansing, Mich. Michigan electors will meet this afternoon to certify the electoral college vote.
Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

All six key states that delivered Biden the White House -- Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan -- convened their presidential electors for meetings that featured no drama and no defections by faithless electors.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addressed her state's electors to laud state officials and workers for running a successful election and urged that the results are now final.

"The people have spoken. It was a safe, fair and secure election," she said ahead of the electors' vote. "It was the kind of election our founding fathers envisioned when they created this democracy and built this country. And after today, the results will be final. It's time to move forward together as one United States of America."

Demonstrators protest outside the Michigan State Capitol, Dec. 14, 2020, in Lansing, Mich. Michigan electors will meet this afternoon to certify the electoral college vote.
Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

Despite the possibility of violence looming over the day, only a small group of protesters had gathered outside the Capitol building, closed to the public, while electors conducted business inside. One of those electors, Chris Cracchiolo, the chair of Grand Traverse Democratic Party, told ABC News he still feels "honored" to be part of the proceedings. 

"I think the importance of the elector role has been magnified every day since November 3," he said over email before the meeting got underway. "I feel honored and privileged to do this."

Connor Wood, another elector for Biden and chair of the Jackson County Democratic Party, implored the country to move away from the Electoral College system hours before the electors gathered inside the Senate chamber in Lansing.

"Today is another day that reminds me of the absurdity of the ramshackle Rube Goldberg device we use to elect our nation’s leaders, and of the necessity of moving to a 'one person, one vote' system that we use to elect literally every single other office in the entire country," he said.

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

Dec 14, 2020, 3:43 PM EST

Hillary Clinton renews call to abolish Electoral College after casting vote for Biden

In a very procedural affair in Albany, New York’s 29 electors cast their votes for Biden. Among those in attendance were former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who are both electors. 

Fellow elector Gov. Andrew Cuomo, wearing a mask, thanked the Clintons, who appeared in-person for the meeting, for “all the great work they have done for this nation” with the chamber breaking out in applause inside the chamber.

New York Electoral College members, Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, left, and Former President Bill Clinton, vote for President and Vice President in the Assembly Chamber at the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y., Dec. 14, 2020.
Hans Pennink/AP

After the vote, Hillary Clinton tweeted calling for the Electoral College to be abolished. Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by nearly 3 million votes but lost the all-important electoral count to Trump.

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

Dec 14, 2020, 3:41 PM EST

Pennsylvania closes heavily litigated election season with all votes cast for Biden

Electors in Pennsylvania, one of the election’s most heavily litigated battleground states, gathered for socially-distanced proceedings in Harrisburg at noon where Rich Fitzgerald of Allegheny County, chief tally, officially certified Pennsylvania’s 20 Electoral College votes for Biden and Harris at 12:45 p.m.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, appeared to give a nod to Republicans in her state who were vocal in challenging the outcome of the 2020 election when opening the meeting by quoting the late President George H.W. Bush -- the last one-term president prior to Trump.

"As President George Herbert Walker Bush eloquently said after the 1992 election, 'The people have spoken.' And we respect the majesty of the democratic system, your participation today in this Electoral College proves once again, the durability of our constitution and the majesty of our democracy," she said. 

The Pennsylvania state Capitol is seen, Dec. 14, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa.
Matt Slocum/AP

Malcolm Kenyatta -- a 30-year-old, gay, Black man who made his mark on the national stage as one of a group of young Democratic National Convention keynote speakers whom the party identified as "diverse voices from the next generation of party leaders” -- offered the resolution for the balloting for the President and Vice President of United States.

As the electors’ votes were certified, the state’s GOP appeared to lean into political theater by announcing that they cast a conditional vote for Trump and Vice President Mike Mike Pence. The move does not affect the outcome of the electors meeting, nor does it challenge Biden as the recipient of the state’s electoral votes. 

"We took this procedural vote to preserve any legal claims that may be presented going forward. This was in no way an effort to usurp or contest the will of the Pennsylvania voters," Bernie Comfort, the vice chairwoman of the Pennsylvania GOP, who is also the Pennsylvania chair of the Trump campaign, said in a statement.

-ABC News' Alisa Wiersema

Dec 14, 2020, 1:39 PM EST

Battleground states ramp up security as electors cast ballots

With the president and his allies continuing their pressure campaign to overturn the election, some of the battleground states where Biden won are taking additional security precautions to safeguard their electors meeting Monday.

In Georgia, a spokesperson for Van R. Johnson, the mayor of Savannah and an elector for Biden this year, confirmed that he has additional security measures in place today as a "precautionary measure," without providing details on any specifics. The measures were first reported by the New York Times.

The Democratic Party of Georgia would only say that they've taken "every measure" to ensure the safety of their electors. 

In Michigan, where protests are planned outside the state Capitol, electors were promised police escorts, ABC News confirmed. 

Police officers check the perimeters as Michigan electors gather to cast their votes for the U.S. presidential election at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Mich., Dec. 14, 2020.
Emily Elconin/Reuters

Late Sunday night, officials announced that the state legislature's office buildings will be closed to the public due to "credible threats of violence." The decision to close the state House and Senate offices while the presidential electors convene to cast their votes for Biden came from a recommendation from law enforcement. It was not motivated by anticipated protests outside the capitol, according to a statement from Amber McCann, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. 

In Arizona, the secretary of state’s office is not publicizing the location of their meeting due to “security reasons,” according to a spokesperson. 

-ABC News' Kendall Karson, Alisa Wiersema, Quinn Scanlan and Meg Cunningham

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