President-Elect Joe Biden in his West Wing Office at the White House, Jan. 10, 2013. (Official White House photo by David Lienemann) (
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(AP) Pennsylvania on Monday cast its 20 electoral votes for Democrat Joe Biden, the native son whose win in the state last month cemented his victory over President Donald Trump.
The electors, primarily Democratic elected officials, also chose Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, as vice president. The 20 electors were socially distanced in a cavernous auditorium near the Capitol, meeting there instead of the floor of the state House because of the pandemic.
One by one, each elector walked up to the auditorium stage and dropped his or her ballot into a box designed by Benjamin Franklin. The electors gave the vote tally a standing ovation.
Nancy Mills, president of the state’s Electoral College, noted it was Pennsylvania that put Biden over the 270-vote threshold needed to claim the White House.
“We are the state that returned the dignity and honor to the United States of America,’’ she said.