Donald Trump and Joe Biden are heading for a photo-finish contest in the US Election 2020.US Election Results 2020 Live Updates: Democratic candidate Joe Biden is inching towards a victory in the US presidential election. With 264 projected electoral college votes, Biden needs just six more to win the race to the White House. Biden is predicted to win the key states of Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, according to the Associated Press (AP). He also has an edge in Nevada, which will give him six more votes to cross the finish line, but the results are unlikely to come until the weekend.
US President Donald Trump, who is leading the states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, currently has 214 electoral votes, according to AP’s projected tally. However, what isn’t good news for the Trump campaign is that Biden is narrowing the gap in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
In an early morning press conference Wednesday, Trump accused the Biden campaign of election fraud and vowed to move the US Supreme Court over the results. Despite drawing criticism, Trump’s campaign went ahead to confirm it would formally request a Wisconsin recount, citing “irregularities in several Wisconsin counties.” It also filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan before the projections were made, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in these key battleground states.
The high stakes election was held against the backdrop of a unprecedented pandemic that has killed more than 2,30,000 Americans and wiped away millions of jobs. Both candidates spent months pressing dramatically different visions for the nations’ future, and voters responded in huge numbers with more than 100 million people casting votes ahead of Election Day.
But the margins were exceedingly tight with the candidates trading wins in battleground states across the country. Millions of votes are yet to be tallied given the overwhelming number of people who voted early through mail-in-ballots due to the pandemic. Mail-in-ballots favour Biden, who spent months repeatedly telling his supporters to vote in advance, while Trump encouraged voters to vote on Election Day. (Don’t miss: A guide to tracking the US Election 2020 results)
US Election 2020 Results Live Updates: Supporters of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden (obscured) wave flags and hand out information to arriving voters outside an early voting polling station in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Oct. 30, 2020.(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden stands with his wife Jill Biden and his grandchildren during a drive-in rally at Heinz Field, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
A large group of Donald Trump supporters gathered outside a counting centre in Arizona a while ago, prompting concerns over the safety of poll workers. CNN reported that some people were carrying arms, while some chant slogans of both 'Count the Vote' and 'Stop the Vote'. There were several people waving Trump flags and singing YMCA, among other songs.
At present, Biden leads in Arizona with 50.7 per cent of the vote (14,44,213) against Trump's 47.9 per cent (13,65,040). The AP has already called the state for Biden. Security has been heightened at the centre
Thousands of Trump supports protested in Detroit, demanding that the count be stopped, after the US President alleged election fraud and vowed to take the battle to the Supreme Court. On the other hand, anti-Trump supporters marched took to the streets in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and San Diego, demanding a complete vote count, in a diametrically opposite campaign. Here are some pictures:
Although most US states allow electronic methods, paper ballots are the norm across the country. Ahead of counting comes a stage called processing, which involves checking signatures, verifying documentation, and perhaps even scanning the ballots. Counting votes is a separate, and later, process. Each state has its own date for starting in-person or mail-in voting, deadline for receiving the mail-in ballots, processing the ballots, and tabulating votes.
To take two examples: In Arizona, mailing of ballots started on October 7, accepted until Election Day, and counting has been on since October 20; in Ohio, processing started on October 6, mail-in ballots can be received up to November 13 but they must be postmarked by November 2, and counting started on November 3. Read more here
The race in Pennsylvania is too close to call, with Joe Biden now narrowing the margin between himself and Trump. Trump has 50.7 per cent of the votes (3,215,969), while Biden trails with 48.1 per cent (3,051,555), a difference of just 164,414 votes, according to CNN. Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes, a crucial state for both Trump and Biden.
Trump has challenged the counting process despite millions of votes yet to be counted in the state. However, the mail-in-ballots that are being opened are expected to favour the Democrats. The NYT reported that 97 per cent of the votes cast were counted, but city officials were still waiting to receive some mail-in ballots.
Vijay Gokhale, a former foreign secretary, writes: "America First" is here to stay. The American people believe that their education, employment and retirement have been impacted by the immigration, outsourcing and liberal trade policies of past administrations. Trump America does not want more migrants, legal or otherwise, in the United States. It will not support the outsourcing of jobs at the cost of their own. It wants a fair deal on trade that does not allow cheaper imports to put small American businesses out of business.
Even a Biden administration cannot return America back to the days of open borders and free trade. It might terminate the travel ban, but it cannot reverse the immigration policy. It might relax some categories of work-visas, but it cannot return to the time when outsourcing was the preferred option for American companies. It might re-engage with the World Trade Organisation but it cannot tear down the trade barriers that Trump has erected in the name of Make in America. Biden’s own trade agenda looks a lot like Trump’s, if you leave out the tactics that are so offending to others. Read his opinion column here
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is leading in Nevada by around 7,600 votes. He has 49.3 per cent of the voteshare, against Trump's 48.7 per cent. This is a close race, and a must win for Biden's to win the presidency.
The NYT explains: Biden has only a narrow lead, but here again it's hard to see where Trump is supposed to make up ground. All of the Election Day votes have been counted, and now only Democratic-leaning late mail and provisional ballots remain. Nevada election officials said no more results would be released until noon Eastern time Thursday.
The BSE Sensex has jumped over 500 points in early trade to cross the 41,000 mark, while the broader Nifty rises over 140 points to cross 12,000 mark. Markets are rallying as Joe Biden inches closer to victory in the US presidential elections.
President Donald Trump has disputed the election results in some states, a move that could result in legal and political drama. Reuters looks at the ways in which an election can be contested -- through lawsuits, the electoral college, and a 'contingent election', where the House of Representatives chooses the next president, while the Senate selects the vice president. Click here to understand what could happen if the result is disputed
The US has repored over 100,000 cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, another record in daily cases. The surge in cases is the biggest challenge the new president will have to face, especially as winter approaches -- it remains unknown how Covid-19 will spread in colder months. According to a report in the AP, in the 86 days until Trump's term ends on January 10, 2021, 100,000 Americans will die due to Covid-19 if the country does not change its strategy to tackle the pandemic. Read more here
Joe Biden has secured 264 electoral college votes, while Donald Trump has 214. Biden is ahead in Nevada, a state with six votes, which can help him secure the presidency. Here's where things stand at the moment:
Democratic candidate Joe Biden is confident of a victory in the 2020 US election. In a message, he says, "I’m confident that we will emerge victorious. But this will not be my victory alone. It will be a victory for the American people." Watch here:
Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to Prime Minister of India, writes: Scholars and analysts in the US, on both sides of the political divide, have defined this election as a fight to reclaim the “soul of America”. The supporters of President Donald Trump define that “soul” as being white and Christian. The enthusiasts of Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris, now including many Republicans, believe their Constitution’s core values of a liberal and plural society are being eroded by Trumpism. Not since the Vietnam war has the US been so divided.
Apart from the sheer vulgarity of Trump’s persona and politics, the racism, bigotry and white supremacist ideology of his political support base has not merely divided America and eroded its democratic credentials at home, but has deeply wounded the global stature of the United States. This at a time when the world needs to once again reaffirm its commitment to pluralism and the ideals of liberal democracy, challenged as they are by the rise of authoritarian and totalitarian ideologies and leaders of various hues across the world.
Countries that turn to the US today, like India, seeking help to check a hegemonic China do so out of compulsion, not choice. Trump’s transactionalism abroad and racism at home have robbed the US of a higher moral purpose in its global role. Read his opinion column here
What are swing states and why are they important? Here's a quick look:
Express correspondent Karishma Mehrotra reports from Scranton, Pennsylvania: Around the corner from Joe Biden’s home — where the president-hopeful had spent the first half of the day waving at fans and speaking to his hometown connections — roughly 15 Scranton locals saw the evening turn to night at Morganz Pub & Eatery as they sat in front of four television screens that gave them little information about who their next president would be.
When asked how optimistic they felt, one said, “I feel optimistic that the sun will come up tomorrow,” while another said, “I feel optimistic that I have to go to work tomorrow.”
The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan, demanding demanding better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted. The is calling for a temporary halt in counting in both states until it is given "meaningful" access in numerous locations and allowed to review ballots that already have been opened and processed, reported AP. Biden has taken a marginal lead in Michigan, but Trump is projected to win Pennsylvania.
The Trump campaign also sought a recount in Wisconsin dur to "irregularities in several Wisconsin counties".
As counting proceeds slowly in key battlegrounds, the Election is on razor’s edge. What happens if the race ends up being adjudicated by the US Supreme Court? And how might the transition unfold if Joe Biden ultimately wins? An Expert Explains: Much will, of course, depend on how soon the election is conceded, or it becomes clear who has the support of 270 or more members of the Electoral College. If Trump eventually emerges as the victor, the transition to a second term should formally be seamless, but the triumphalism and volatile personality of the incumbent could provoke some civil unrest. If the election continues to remain in dispute or if Biden wins, the transition period will be fraught with consequences.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog on the US election 2020 results. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are locked in a tough fight to the White House as votes are tallied for the final few battleground states. Biden is projected to win the key states of Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin, while Trump is expected to triumph in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest news and updates.