News / 2020 ELECTIONS / Politics

Wisconsin, Arizona certify Biden wins, further cementing Trump loss

Tuesday, 01 December 2020 10:56 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 December 2020 11:05 AM ]

US President-elect Joe Biden delivers a pre-Thanksgiving speech at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., November 25, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

US President Donald Trump has suffered another setback as the states of Wisconsin and Arizona certify Joe Biden as the winner of the November presidential election.

Biden's victories were certified on Monday as Donald Trump continues to make baseless claims of vote fraud that have been shot down in state and federal courts.

Arizona secretary of state Katie Hobbs said during the vote's final, official certification that, "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,"

Biden beat Trump by just over 10,400 ballots in Arizona, marking a significant shift of the US electoral map this year as the last Democrat to carry the southwestern state in the race for the White House was Bill Clinton in 1996.

Arizona, the former reliably Republican bastion, saw a growing population of young Hispanic voters and suburban women, who became attracted to Biden’s centrist approach.

Trump has so far refused to concede defeat, which delayed the start of the presidential transition by weeks.

"WOW, total election corruption in Arizona. Hearing on now!" Trump tweeted as his lawyers and some lawmakers met in Arizona.

The battleground state of Wisconsin also certified Biden's win on Monday, with Governor Tony Evers tweeting he had "carried out his duty."

"Please join me in thanking our clerks, election administrators, and poll workers across our state for working tirelessly to ensure we had a safe, fair and efficient election," he added.

Trump’s campaign also requested a new recount of votes in Georgia, which is due to end on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's supreme court dismissed a Republican lawsuit that had sought to invalidate mail-in ballots in the battleground state -- or to throw out all votes and allow the state's legislature to decide the winner.

Pennsylvania officially certified Biden's victory there on November 24.

Biden has proceeded with the transition process, despite efforts by Trump and his campaign to undo the election, and is due to be sworn in on January 20.

Biden won the Electoral College vote -- the state-by-state competition deciding the winner -- by 306 to 232.

The president-elect also won the popular national vote by 51 to 47 percent.