President Trump and former Vice President Biden have run hard, spirited campaigns that have inspired record civic engagement. I applaud both of them for their desire to serve our nation.

Today’s announcement by the media of the election’s outcome is a projection. A final outcome will be reached when the election process concludes, which is after all legal votes have been counted, litigation is resolved, and any recounts are completed.

Democracy succeeds only when all sides can trust that the election process is fair and transparent. Given the extremely close result, the American people must be assured that the process is being conducted with integrity.

This means campaign representatives must have meaningful access to observe whether the law is being followed. I strongly encourage all state and local officials to ensure that this happens as the election process is completed.