Anxiety in photos: Seattle voters await final election results

As the race between Biden and Trump tightens in multiple states, our photojournalists captured the mood in Seattle.

protest over vote count

Debbie Douglas holds an American flag during a “Count Every Vote, Protect Every Person” rally in Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020. Demonstrators gathered to demand that states continue to count every vote and refuse Trump campaign efforts to halt vote counting across multiple states. Some had also gathered to speak to ending the Electoral College, protecting undocumented immigrants, defunding the police and investing in Black communities. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

While voters reaffirmed Washington’s status as a blue state on election night, giving Democrat Joe Biden a 61% majority vote for president and 12 electoral votes, the national picture was still unclear days later.

Multiple states had yet to deliver final vote counts as of Thursday afternoon, and neither Biden nor Republican Donald Trump had reached the 270-vote Electoral College threshold needed to win the presidency.

Anxious voters across Seattle remained glued to their phones, refreshing websites, gathering around TV sets and radios, and awaiting a final result in the national election.

“I think Biden will take it, that’s what I’ve been praying for,” said Frank Taylor from his barbershop. The TV at Frank’s Barber Shop and Salon was glued to election coverage on Nov. 5, 2020.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of people gathered in support of a number of causes, some of them chanting “Count Every Vote” in response to several tweets and lawsuits by Trump to halt vote counting in several states. Organizers also called for ending the Electoral College, protecting undocumented immigrants, defunding the police and investing in Black communities.

On Tuesday, a smaller group gathered downtown following the closure of polls, with a continued focus on racial justice and an end to police brutality. 

The anxiety of the moment does not seem lost on anyone, as King County waits to learn the result, with many asking, “What next?”

Owners Heesoo and Joy Kim watch election updates on the news in their Capitol Hill restaurant, Aoki Sushi and Grill, on Nov. 5, 2020. The winner of the presidency is still unknown, as ballots in key states are still being counted. “I am a little bit nervous but we will see. We are just watching and waiting,” Joy says. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Henri Beaudoin, 26, attends a sign-waving event for President Trump at the 60th Street overpass in Kirkland, Nov. 3, 2020. “I’m a small business owner and I’ve supported the president from Day 1,” said Beaudoin. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

A Biden campaign sign sits in the window of a home in Fremont on Nov. 5, 2020. The presidency is still undetermined as ballots in key states are still being counted. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Owner Frank Taylor watches election updates on the TV at Frank’s Barbershop and Salon in Seattle on Nov. 5, 2020. “I think Biden will take it, that’s what I’ve been praying for,” he says. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Hundreds of demonstrators march through downtown Seattle, Nov. 4, 2020, to call for racial justice, Black liberation, the protection of all people and for all votes in the 2020 election to be counted. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of groups, including Seattle Evening March, Morning March Seattle, Black Action Coalition and the Engage Team. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

A march organizer addresses the crowd as demonstrators take up the intersection of Westlake Avenue and Mercer Street in the South Lake Union area of Seattle on election night, Nov. 3, 2020. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

A motorist looks out a window as hundreds of people march through Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020. Protesters demanded counting every vote, ending the Electoral College, protecting undocumented immigrants, defunding the police and investing in Black communities. These demands are a continuation of what Black organizers in Seattle have been calling for every day for months. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

A group of demonstrators yells, “Black lives matter,” and dance together while marching in South Lake Union on Nov. 3, 2020. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Onlookers watch as hundreds of demonstrators march through Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020, to call for racial justice. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

Seattle police arrest a demonstrator after a march through South Lake Union on Nov. 3, 2020. (Jen Dev/Crosscut)

Hundreds of demonstrators march past a Black Lives Matter mural in Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

Dressed in a sparkly Election Day outfit, Cameron Ruiz checks incoming election results outside a bar in Capitol Hill on Nov. 3, 2020, moments after a demonstration had passed by. He expressed disappointment at Biden’s slim lead at the moment. “I’m surprised, but not shocked,” he said. (Jen Dev/Crosscut)

Katie N. leads a chant as demonstrators march through Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

Hundreds of demonstrators — including Bipasha and Sriram, who declined to give their last name — listened to speakers in Pioneer Square before marching through downtown Seattle, Nov. 4, 2020. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)

Arrius Graves dances with a Black Lives Matter flag while marching in South Lake Union on Nov. 3, 2020. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

An onlooker signals a heart with their hands while watching a march move through South Lake Union on Nov. 3, 2020. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Clarification: This story has been updated with a more accurate description of the Wednesday protests.

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