The US Electoral College voted to confirm Democratic nominee Joe Biden as the next president on Monday, as President Donald Trump continues to contest the election result.
President-elect Biden noted in his first speech after Electoral College voting ended how definitive his victory was, and then rebuked Republican lawmakers who threw their weight behind Trump's baseless allegations of voter fraud.
"In America, politicians don't take power, people grant power to them," Biden said.
Voting took place across the US throughout the day, with electors generally meeting in state capitols.
Biden was confirmed to be the winner after California's electors voted to give him the state's 55 electoral college votes, pushing him over the 270 needed to win the presidency.
The Electoral College system distributes 538 votes to states based on population size. Biden garnered 306 votes while Trump got 232. The states had all certified their results from the November 3 election.
While most states have laws binding electors to the popular vote outcome in their territories, some do not.
Concerns
In modern history this has not turned into an impactful issue but it had sparked concerns for potential drama this time if certain officials decided to go rogue.
But there were no unexpected events on the day. Even in Georgia, the scene of a hotly contested election battle, all 16 votes went to Biden.
Trump is pushing a false narrative that the elections were rigged against him. His legal team has lost dozens of cases in the courts, and one case brought by his allies was rejected at the Supreme Court level.
The next step will be in Congress on January 6, when lawmakers certify the Electoral College vote.
Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris, are due to be sworn in on January 20.
So far, Trump has not offered to meet Biden, but his administration has begun to work with the president-elect's transition team.
