Arizona, Wisconsin confirm Biden wins
Arizona and Wisconsin confirmed Democrat Joe Biden won in their states on Monday, dealing the latest blow to President Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn his defeat.
Biden defeated Trump by 10,457 votes in Arizona, according to the official results certified by Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in Phoenix. The process was overseen by Gov. Doug Ducey, Attorney General Mark Brnovich and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel.
The certification confirms that Biden won the state and triggers the appointment of electors who will cast Arizona’s 11 Electoral College votes for Biden when they meet on Dec. 14, unless a court intervenes.
Wisconsin Elections Commission Chairwoman Ann Jacobs also officially confirmed the result on Monday, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced he has signed the document appointing Biden electors for the state’s 10 electoral votes. Jacobs’ action also starts a fiveday period for Trump to appeal the outcome of a recount.
The Trump campaign requested and paid $3 million for a recount of two heavily Democratic counties that confirmed Biden’s win in the state and even increased his more than 20,000-vote margin of victory over Trump.
The Trump campaign attacked practices around absentee ballots when it requested the recount in the two counties, but election officials in the state have repeatedly defended the integrity of the election.
Arizona and Wisconsin are the last contested battleground states to make their presidential election results official. Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada certified Biden’s victories last week, and Georgia made his win there official on Nov. 20.
It’s yet another loss in efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his defeat by challenging the election results in court and seeking to halt the certification in some states, despite failing to produce evidence. Those tactics have met with numerous court defeats.
“This election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and elections procedures, despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary,” Hobbs said before certifying the results there.
The state also certified the victory of Democrat Mark Kelly over Republican U.S. Sen. Martha McSally. Kelly will be sworn in on Wednesday at noon, according to a senior Democratic aide.
At the same time the Arizona results were being made official, Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani was participating in a meeting on Monday at a Phoenix hotel with Republican legislators to discuss “election irregularities and fraud.” Giuliani was part of a similar meeting last week in Pennsylvania that featured Trump calling in to complain without evidence that the election was fraudulent.
Biden’s victory in Arizona doesn’t qualify for an automatic recount because the winning margin is greater than the lesser of 200 votes or 1/10 of 1% of the difference between the two candidates. There’s no provision for a losing candidate to request a recount, according to the secretary of state’s office. Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward has said the party intends to file a challenge to the results of the election after the canvass is complete.
Felix Sauseda of Lodi passed away at the age of 88. Mr. Sauseda was born June 6, 1932 in Lodi CA. to Concepcion Castro Sauseda and Abundio Sauseda. Mr. Sauseda worked for General Mills for 35 years before retiring in 2005. He was a member at St. Anne church and Lodi Mexican American Lions Club. He enjoyed traveling, photography, spending time with family and friends and watching the Giants and 49er games. He will be best remembered as a loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be dearly missed. He is survived by his wife Josephine, daughters Pamela Sauseda, Corey ( Dwayne) Floyd and son Wayne (Lisa) and multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren. Honorary family member Frank Flores. He was preceded in death by his son Mark Sauseda. Graveside service Tuesday December 1, 2020 at 1pm at Lodi Memorial Park Cemetary. Lodi Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.