The Electoral College voted Monday, Dec. 14 to certify the Presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden. Biden’s 306 electoral votes surpass the 270 required to win the presidency.

President Donald Trump had continued to contest Nov. 3’s election results by requesting recounts and filing lawsuits claiming voter fraud in key battleground states like Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

While Michigan and Georgia certified their electoral votes in late Nov., courts like those in Pennsylvania have dismissed Trump’s cases.

Judge Matthew Brann of the U.S District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, struck down one such lawsuit on Nov. 22 saying: “Like Frankenstein’s monster,” the lawsuits were “haphazardly stitched together.”

The Supreme Court, consisting of three judges appointed by Trump, rejected a lawsuit to overturn the election results in four states on Friday, Dec. 11.

For NCHS students, it is details like those that make the 2020 election unforgettable and prompted strong opinions.

Senior Maresa Santiago believes Trump only claimed voter fraud because he lost. “If he won,” Santiago said, “he would’ve said the election was entirely fair.”

“It doesn’t seem like there was more voter fraud in this election than in elections past,” Emma Carroll (’23) said.

The sitting president, Donald Trump has not yet accepted defeat. He is the first modern president to refuse to concede.

Despite the General Services Administration beginning to move forward with President-elect Biden’s transition, the Trump Administration is still resisting.

Noah Plassman (’22), who supported Trump in the election, but is not happy with Trump’s denial of the election results.

“He’s immature,” Plassman said. “He was really thinking he was going to win this election.”

Amber Hitchins (’23) believes Trump’s lack of concession “shows his bad character.” “He needs to grow up and realize voters want him out,” Hitchins said.

While Trump made history by contesting the election results like never before, President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is historic as well.

Biden is not only the oldest person to be elected president, but his running mate Senator Kamala Harris has elected the first female Vice President. Harris would also be the first person of color to serve as vice president.

“As a woman,” Kaylee Rinkenberger (’23) said, “it’s so nice to see more female politicians rise up and become a role model for girls and boys alike.”

Hitchins said that Biden’s victory was “a win for human rights and America as a whole.”

Senior Aubrey Stork described Biden’s win as “ very important in order for America to better itself.”

But Stork said, “Just because I favored Joe Biden … doesn’t mean I like him,” Stork believes that now that Biden’s been elected, “it’s prime time” to hold him accountable for his duties as president.