When you look back at the 2020 election, the sheer volume of noise can make the actual numbers feel a bit fuzzy. But the data is settled. It’s been certified by every state and the federal government. Honestly, the scale of the turnout was something we hadn't seen in over a century. People weren't just voting; they were flooding the system in a way that fundamentally shifted how we look at American participation.
How Many Votes Did Biden Get in 2020?
So, let's get into the hard numbers. Joe Biden received 81,283,501 votes. That is a staggering figure. It represents about 51.3% of the total popular vote. To put that in perspective, it was the first time in U.S. history any presidential candidate cleared the 80 million mark. Basically, Biden didn't just win the popular vote; he shattered the previous record held by Barack Obama in 2008.
Donald Trump, for his part, brought in 74,223,975 votes. Even though he lost, he actually grew his support from 2016, proving that 2020 was a high-stakes, high-engagement year for everyone involved.
The Electoral College split
Popular votes tell you about the mood of the country, but the Electoral College is what actually hands over the keys to the White House. Biden ended up with 306 electoral votes, while Trump finished with 232.
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If that number sounds familiar, it should. It’s the exact same margin Trump won by in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, which he famously described as a "landslide" at the time. Biden’s path to that 306 came through flipping several key states that had gone red four years prior.
- Pennsylvania: The "Blue Wall" returned, with Biden taking the state by roughly 81,000 votes.
- Michigan: A more decisive flip, with a margin of about 154,000.
- Wisconsin: A razor-thin victory of just over 20,000 votes.
- Georgia: One of the biggest surprises, where Biden won by a mere 11,779 votes.
- Arizona: Another historic shift, won by about 10,457 votes.
Why the numbers were so high
You might wonder how both candidates managed to rack up such historic totals. It wasn't just "politics as usual." We were in the middle of a global pandemic. States across the country scrambled to expand mail-in voting and early voting options to keep people safe.
This made voting easier for a lot of folks who usually struggle to get to the polls on a random Tuesday in November.
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Turnout reached 66.6% of the voting-eligible population. That’s the highest since 1900. It turns out that when you give people multiple ways to cast a ballot and something they really care about to vote for (or against), they show up.
The "Tipping Point" states
While the 7 million-vote lead in the popular vote looks massive, the election was actually decided by a few thousand people in specific places. If you take the combined margin of victory in Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin, Biden won those three states by less than 45,000 votes total.
If those had gone the other way, we would have had a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College, throwing the whole thing into the House of Representatives. It’s a wild reminder that while millions of people vote, the "how" and "where" matter just as much as the "how many."
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What Most People Get Wrong
One common misconception is that the "official" count was finished on election night. Kinda the opposite, actually. Because of the massive influx of mail-in ballots—which often take longer to verify and count—the lead shifted in several states over the course of a few days.
In Pennsylvania, for example, Trump had a large lead on election night because "day-of" votes were counted first. As the mail-in ballots (which skewed heavily Democratic) were tallied, Biden eventually overtook him. This "Blue Shift" is a documented phenomenon in modern elections, but it caused a lot of confusion and fueled theories that didn't hold up under audit.
Actionable Insights for Future Elections
Understanding the 2020 results isn't just a history lesson; it's a roadmap for what to expect in the future.
- Check your registration early. The 2020 surge proved that every vote really does count, especially in "tipping point" states. Don't wait until October to realize your address is outdated.
- Understand your state’s rules. 2020 changed how many states handle mail-in and early voting. Some kept the expansions; others pulled them back. Know the deadlines for your specific zip code.
- Trust the certified data. While social media might be full of claims, organizations like the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the National Archives provide the finalized, audited numbers.
- Volunteer as a poll worker. High turnout requires more hands on deck. If you want to see how the sausage is made and ensure the process remains secure, sign up at your local election office.
The 2020 election was a massive undertaking that proved the American electoral system can handle unprecedented stress. Whether you're looking at the 81.2 million votes Joe Biden received or the high engagement on the Republican side, the story of 2020 is one of a country that, for better or worse, was more checked-in than it had been in over a century.