President-elect Joe Biden said it was "time to turn the page" after US electoral college representatives on Monday submitted their votes to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Mr Biden clinched the required 270 votes to become president-elect, beating the incumbent, President Donald Trump.
"The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago," Mr Biden said in a prime-time speech.
"And we now know that nothing, not even a pandemic, or an abuse of power, can extinguish that flame."
The electoral college vote between Mr Biden and Mr Trump ended 306-232 in favour of Mr Biden, with no faithless electors voting against the wishes of the people.
Mr Trump, meanwhile, continues to make claims of electoral fraud and still refuses to concede to Mr Biden.
"Three hundred and six electoral votes is the same number that Trump and Pence received when they won in 2016," Mr Biden said on Monday night.
"At the time, Trump called his electoral college tally a landslide. By his own standards, these numbers represented a clear victory then and I respectfully suggest they do so now."
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Biden on the campaign trail – in pictures
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US Vice President Joe Biden reacts as reporters shout questions asking if he has made a decision on whether to run for President as he awaits the arrival of the South Korean President for lunch at the Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, October 15, 2015. AFP -
Democratic vice presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin greet moderator Gwen Ifill during the vice presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri October 2, 2008. Reuters -
US President-elect Senator Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Senator Joe Biden stand with Biden's mother Jean during their election night victory rally in Chicago, November 4, 2008. Reuters -
US President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, Vice President Joseph Biden and his wife Jill are escorted by Major General Richard Rowe as they review the troops from the steps of the US Capitol Building after Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States during the 56th presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington January 20, 2009. Reuters -
Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden sits with kids from the Union Baptist Crusaders drill team during an event at the Brown Derby Ballroom in Waterloo, Iowa, US, December 5, 2019. Reuters -
Democratic 2020 US presidential candidates Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former US Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders, walk arm-in-arm with local African-American leaders during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in Columbia, South Carolina, US, January 20, 2020. Reuters -
US Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is licked by a dog as he chats with supporters after speaking at his party after the Nevada Caucus in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, February 22, 2020. Reuters -
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to reporters after a brief stop at the Villas at Horizon Village in North Charleston, South Carolina, 24 February, 2020. EPA -
Democratic presidential candidates former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and businessman Tom Steyer stand together on stage at the start of the tenth Democratic presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, 25 February, 2020. EPA -
Democratic US presidential candidates Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders do an elbow bump in place of a handshake as they greet other before the start of the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 US presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, March 15, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden walks off the stage at the conclusion of the tenth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, February 25, 2020. Reuters -
US Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden poses for a picture with Pastor of the Bethel AME Church, Rev. Dr. Silvester S. Beaman and attendees during a visit to the Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, June 1, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign stop in Detroit, Michigan, March 9, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks about President Donald Trump's response to protests and rioting across the United States as he stands under photos of former Philadelphia mayors during an event at City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. June 2, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden listens to Carlette Brooks as she wipes away tears and talks about the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on her family and their small businesses on the outside patio of the Carlette’s Hideaway sports bar during a campaign stop in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, June 17, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff pose keeping social distance after a campaign event, their first joint appearance since Biden named Harris as his running mate, at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Delaware, August 12, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden appears by video feed from Delaware to question voters about their situations in this video frame grab from the start of the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention as participants from across the country are hosted over video links to the originally planned site of the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 17, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden celebrate in front of fireworks after Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination during the 4th and final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 20, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, US Senator and Democratic candidate for Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff celebrate after Joe Biden accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination during the 4th and final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 20, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden meets with steel workers at a backyard during a visit to Detroit, Michigan, September 9, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden holds a copy of his schedule and notes as he delivers remarks during a campaign event in Warren, Michigan, September 9, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to CJ Brown as he makes a brief stop at "Three Thirteen" clothing store to buy a few items for his grandchildren while visiting Detroit, Michigan, September 9, 2020. Reuters -
Democratic presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden and Vice President Mike Pence greet each other during the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. Reuters -
Senator Kamala Harris and US Vice President Mike Pence both gesture as they debate during the Vice Presidential debate at the University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 7, 2020. EPA -
President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the final presidential debate at Belmont University, Thursday, October 22, 2020, in Nashville, Tennessee. AP -
Democratic US presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as former US President Barack Obama listens during a campaign canvas kickoff in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, October 31, 2020. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their final 2020 presidential campaign debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, October 22, 2020. Reuters -
Motorists celebrate after the 2020 presidential election is called for President-elect Joe Biden, Saturday, November 7, in Philadelphia. AP -
Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Harris, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden on stage together, Saturday, November 7, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. AP -
With tears in her eyes, Alyssa Oemlenart, of San Francisco, listens in San Francisco to a broadcast of President-elect Joe Biden as he speaks after winning the presidential election, November 7, 2020. AP
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A lawsuit led by the Texas attorney general and supported by Mr Trump tried to overturn the election results in some swing states, including Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The lawsuit was rejected by the US Supreme Court on Friday.
All of those battleground states, and two others in which Mr Trump contested election results, voted in favour of Mr Biden on Monday.
By law, every US presidential election year, electoral college representatives meet in their state capitols to cast their votes on the second Monday of December.
The electors this year took extra precautions for reasons related to the pandemic, and for security because electors in Michigan received death threats. Nevertheless, the day developed without many surprises.
“The electoral college votes which occurred today reflect the fact that even in the face of a public health crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced in our lifetimes, the people voted," Mr Biden said.
The results from Monday's vote will be sent to Washington for the Congressional session on January 6.
The votes will be counted during the joint House and Senate session, paving the way for inauguration on January 20, when Mr Biden will be sworn in as the 46th US president.
Shortly after Mr Biden clinched the electoral college votes required to win, Mr Trump tweeted an announcement that Attorney General William Barr was resigning and would leave his position before the Christmas holiday.
Mr Barr disputed that there was any evidence of electoral fraud this year, contrary to Mr Trump's claims.
