Joe Biden now officially has more than the 270 Electoral College votes he needs to claim the presidency after California certified its election results on Friday evening.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved the results, according to his office, which Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will use to prepare the Certificate of Ascertainment appointing the state’s 55 electors for Biden. All states that voted for Biden over President Donald Trump have now certified their presidential election results except for New Jersey, which plans to do so on Monday, and Hawaii, which is waiting for the resolution of two pending lawsuits.
The electors will meet in their states on Dec. 14 to cast their votes, which Congress will tally in a joint session on Jan. 6.
Even as Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris proceed with the transition to a new administration, Trump continues to make unsubstantiated allegations of massive voter fraud on Twitter and in a lenghly video released this week. But his already slim chances of reversing the election outcome have narrowed even more as courts in several several states have rejected legal challenges brought by his campaign.
Biden’s lead in the popular vote is now more than 7 million votes.