What the 2020 Election Looks Like in 15 Battleground States

American presidential elections aren’t actually decided by the whole of America. Thanks to our continued reliance on the Electoral College, a good deal of the carnage occurs in a handful of states whose orientation—red or blue—is not preordained, where the smallest difference in vote margin can be significant. Over time those designations shift and change; California used to be Republicans’ seat of power, after all. In 2020 it means that the country’s eyes are largely trained on a handful of battleground states.

On Election Day, Vanity Fair sent photographers to 15 of those states ranging from blue-leaning (Michigan) to true toss-ups (Ohio) to deep blood red—but maybe not this year (Texas). They’ve captured the most notable scenes in each, from the sunrise over a Confederate monument in Georgia, where Joe Biden hopes to scrape out a win, to a quiet evening at home with family watching results come in and bearing witness to history.

Arizona

“Emotions are high as my wife and I watch the results come in from home hoping it goes to Biden and that Arizona will swing blue.”

“At this moment I was thinking about how, consistently red, Arizona could finally swing blue. We’re seeing the Republican support is growing smaller and smaller here.” –Cassidy Araizia

Florida

Biden supporters and volunteers for the non-profit A New Majority, play music in front of the Miami-County Elections Department. 

“Colombian Americans assemble in front of the Miami-County Elections Department. Most were in support of Biden, but this woman was a Trump supporter and was broadcasting the scene and her confrontation with the Biden supporters to her social media followers.” –Rose Marie Cromwell