And the winner is...?

Donald Trump stayed true to form last night, claiming victory in the 2020 presidential election despite the fact that neither side has yet reached 270 electoral votes and millions of votes are still being counted. He also falsely continued to assert election fraud and pledged to mount multiple legal challenges to official state results. By contrast, his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, speaking last night in Delaware, said that while he believes "we're on track to win this election," patience is necessary. "It ain't over till every vote is counted," he said. —The Washington Post

• — "Meaningful access." The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit today in Michigan state court demanding a temporary halt to vote-counting until it is given access to locations where ballots are being counted. The campaign is seeking to review ballots that already have been opened and processed. Trump is running slightly behind Biden in Michigan, which he won in 2016.
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• — What about Wisconsin? The Trump campaign is demanding a recount in Wisconsin, which was called for Biden this afternoon. Campaign manager Bill Stepien cited "irregularities" in several counties in Wisconsin, another state Trump won in 2016. —Associated Press
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• — When Ben Shapiro and AOC agree... Even Republican Senate Majority Leader and Trump’s former national security advisor, John Bolton, have publicly criticized Trump's early declaration of victory. Calling it a disgrace, Bolton said, "He has cast doubt on the integrity of the entire electoral process clearly for his own personal advantage." Ya think? —Business Insider

USPS dropped the ball

The U.S. Postal Service failed to deliver a significant percentage of mail-in ballots yesterday in several states that could determine who wins the presidential contest between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, a court filing revealed today.

• — The states seeing relatively poor levels of mail deliveries of ballots include Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, a few of which have yet to declare victors in the race. The current vote tallies in those states show thin margins that hinge on the mailed-in ballots.
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• — The USPS informed U.S. District Judge Emett Sullivan that it had failed to comply with his order that postal officials sweep mail facilities in 12 geographic areas for remaining ballots yesterday during the time frame set by the judge.
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• — Furious with USPS officials for not informing him yesterday of the failure to do the sweeps as ordered, as opposed to telling him today, long after poll locations closed, Sullivan said, "Someone may have a price to pay for that." He indicated that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy may have to testify or be deposed in the case. —CNBC

All eyes on Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is an election battleground state that could ultimately decide the election, which is why Donald Trump has been so focused on suppressing mail-in ballots there. He isn't the only one though. State Republicans are challenging the validity of absentee voting, which was expanded this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Two federal lawsuits aim to prevent the votes from being counted, and the GOP already has laid the groundwork at the U.S. Supreme Court for an effort to exclude ballots that arrive after Election Day, even if they were postmarked by Nov. 3. —GoErie

• — Counting continues. Pennsylvania officials have indicated that election results will take time in the state because this is the first general election with a sizable percentage of voters using mail-in ballots. By state law, these votes could not start being processed until Election Day. To add another layer of complication, some counties are having difficulty processing returns. —NPR
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• — Philly targeted with disinfo. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office called out tweets from a Republican operative and a Newsmax columnist yesterday as being "deliberately deceptive." The tweets falsely alleged a sign in support of Democratic nominee Joe Biden was a violation of election rules because of its proximity to a polling location. Twitter also labeled as "disputed" and potentially misleading a post from @PhillyGOP, which identifies itself as the Philadelphia Republican Party, which alleged voter fraud. —CNN


• — The latest twist in Pennsylvania. Two state Republican senators have called for the resignation of Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar. Boockvar recently sent out guidance that allowed county boards of elections to release identifying information for voters whose absentee and mail-in ballots were rejected, and for allowing those voters to receive provisional ballots that would allow them to "cure" or re-do their vote. Republicans argue that the Department of State's guidance violates Pennsylvania law. —CBS News

O'Mara: Social media can't fix elections

"Social media operates in a very similar way as Revolutionary-era printers and pamphleteers. The outrage on its newsfeeds echoes the sensationalist newspapers of the Gilded Age. Yet neither Thomas Paine nor Joseph Pulitzer could operate with the speed, scale, and precision of tech platforms. Neither can newspapers or television networks today. What's more, none have the global reach and targeting of social media apps, which have sowed electoral havoc near and far. When older forms of media became the dominant platforms for political communication, they lost the right to regulate themselves. So it won't be up to Silicon Valley to save democracy. It will be up to us: the social media users, voters, and government. It's been our job all along." —Margaret O'Mara in The New York Times

Ed. Note: Columnist Margaret O'Mara covers history, technology, business, and U.S. politics.

O'Regan: Is populism killing international affairs?

"The world is now at risk of being run on China's authoritarian and communist terms, rather than the U.S.'s terms of freedom that have run world affairs for the last 75 years. This is all quite scary, and it shows the dangers that populism and nationalism have on world affairs. But it also begs the question, is there any way back for globalism and international cooperation?" —Patrick O'Regan in Berkeley Squares

Ed. Note: Patrick O'Regan is a writer, educator, and entrepreneur.

MORE: European leaders react with caution as Trump falsely claims victory —The Guardian

No bloodbath in the Senate

The highly anticipated blue landslide in the Senate didn't happen. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won his seventh term, easily defeating Democratic nominee Amy McGrath, and is expected to retain his post as Senate Republican leader. McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, painted McConnell as a symbol of Washington's dysfunction during the coronavirus pandemic. But McConnell, at one time viewed with suspicion by his party's base, benefited from his relationship with President Trump, who is popular in the state. —The Hill

• — South Carolina. Sen. Lindsey Graham will return to the Senate for a fourth term after defeating Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. Harrison gained attention for raising huge amounts of money, but he faced an uphill battle against the powerful Republican in a deep-red state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998. —CNN
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• — Arizona. Democrat Mark Kelly defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in Arizona's special Senate election—part of a rapid shift in Arizona politics. "My top priority is making sure we have a plan to slow the spread of [COVID-19] and then getting Arizonans the resources our state needs right now so they can make ends meet, keep our small businesses afloat, and get the testing and healthcare that we need," Kelly said. —Politico
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• — Colorado. Democrat John Hickenlooper, Colorado's former governor, has picked off incumbent GOP Sen. Cory Gardner by a substantial margin. Hickenlooper said climate change, racial justice, and COVID-19 would be among his top priorities in the Senate. —NBC News

Levin: No matter who wins, we must change

"We tend to look at forms of breakdown in our society in terms of what they produce: anger, cynicism, a rejection of tradition. But we would be wise to also consider what they implicitly demand and yearn for: responsibility, integrity and, above all, solidarity. Our national politics needs these, too. But they will come from below—from local and state government, where it's harder to avoid dealing with concrete problems, and from civil society, where we encounter one another on a personal level. We cannot stand with our arms folded and hope we've finally elected the people who will deliver them. They must begin with us, where we are." —Yuval Levin in The New York Times

Ed. Note: Yuval Levin, the director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor of National Affairs, is the author of “A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream.”

"This is more than a deficit of decency (though it is that, too). It's a frontal assault on the Republic. Let’s stand united against this, no matter who you voted for. Count every ballot. —Jon Meacham, presidential historian (@jmeacham)

I voted by mail in Pennsylvania. I filled out my application in May, received my ballot in the mail on October 14, and dropped it off on October 19. My ballot was received on October 21. To think that my ballot could possibly not be counted because of the president's blatant ignorance and disrespect of the U.S. Constitution and its values disgusts me.

How can Trump's base, who claims to love America and the Consitution so dearly, be in favor of not counting every single vote? They don't love America. They love Trump. So much so that they are willing to sacrifice democracy for him.

Voting is an essential part of our democracy, and every single vote should be counted. Period. —Lauren A., Pennsylvania

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.