US Elections Live: The US will choose between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. (File)
The knife-edge US presidential race tilted toward Democrat Joe Biden early Thursday, with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but President Donald Trump claimed he was being cheated and went to court to try and stop vote counting.
Tallying of votes continued through a second night in the remaining battleground states where huge turnout and a mountain of mail-in ballots sent by voters trying to avoid exposure to the coronavirus made the job all the harder.
Both candidates still had paths to hit the magic number of 270 electoral votes representing a majority of states, thereby winning the White House.
But momentum moved to Biden, who made a televised speech from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, to say that "when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."
By flipping the northern battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin, and also winning formerly pro-Trump Arizona, Biden reached 264 electoral votes against 214 so far for Trump.
More than 100 million Americans cast their ballots in advance of Tuesday's Election Day, according to the US Elections Project watchdog, a record figure largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported news agency AFP.
Here are the Live Updates on US Presidential Election Results 2020:
#USElections2020 | After Key Biden Wins, Trump Sues In 3 States https://t.co/cFLkjvaQpy#ResultsWithNDTVpic.twitter.com/MRVtQl42RN
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 5, 2020
US Election 2020 Results: Joe Biden Predicts A Win, Promises To Unite As Donald Trump Goes To Court
Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday predicted victory over President Donald Trump after winning two critical US states, while the Republican incumbent alleged fraud, filed lawsuits and demanded recounts in a race yet to be decided a day after polls closed.
While stopping short of declaring victory, Joe Biden launched a website for a transition to a Democratic-controlled White House. His team called it buildbackbetter.com and declared "the Biden-Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One."
As Donald Trump spent part of the day airing grievances over Twitter, Biden pledged to govern as a unifier if triumphant.
"What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart," Biden, appearing with his running mate Kamala Harris, said in his home state of Delaware on Wednesday.
At the moment, not including Wisconsin, where the Republican Trump has demanded a recount, Edison Research gives Biden a 243 to 213 lead over Trump in Electoral College votes, which are largely based on a state's population.
#USElections2020 | "We are optimistic about Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia": Nish Acharya, Advisor to Biden campaign #ResultsWithNDTVpic.twitter.com/IoTX4XB0N0
- NDTV (@ndtv) November 5, 2020
Social Networks Fail To Corral Trump's Misinformation About US Vote Count
As US President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users the presidential election had yet to be decided.
The posts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites are imposing a real-time test of Silicon Valley's much-touted rules on handling election misinformation and premature claims of victory.
But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote some of their rules on the fly.
Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to promote instant sharing and viral posts, bland disclaimers do not cut it.
"We're on the brink here," said Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press. She said Facebook should take down disinformation rather than just flag it.
"We're testing our democracy experiment, and Facebook hasn't gotten it right up to now," Gonzalez said.
Oregon Police Face Off With Anti-Trump Protesters
Hundreds of state police and left-wing protesters were locked in a tense standoff in downtown Portland late Wednesday after rampaging anti-Trump groups smashed shop windows a day after the election, prompting the state governor to activate the National Guard.
The Multnomah County Sheriff's office declared a riot and made at least nine arrests, citing "widespread violence" in the city's downtown area and repeatedly warning it could deploy munitions and tear gas.
Armed police advanced on demonstrators in unison but there were no clashes, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
The protesters had earlier attended a peaceful rally in a downtown park hosted by a coalition of far-left, anti-capitalist groups featuring lectures and music.
"The mass gathering in downtown Portland is still declared a riot. Leave the area now," the sheriff's office posted on Twitter just before 8:30 pm ( 0430 GMT). It earlier said officers were being targeted with projectiles, such as glass bottles.
US Election Results 2020: Which US States Are Still Counting Votes And When Will They Be Done?
The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as nine states continued to count ballots, including some of the most competitive battleground states where the tally could take days to complete. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over Republican President Donald Trump with 227 to 213 electoral votes. Read more
US Election Uncertainty Turns Focus On Fed
With America's knife-edge election yet to be called, and the Covid-19 pandemic surging across the nation, analysts will be watching the Federal Reserve on Thursday for signs of whether it may step in again to help the US economy survive the coronavirus downturn.
No victor has emerged yet following Tuesday's vote that pitted President Donald Trump against his challenger Joe Biden, which analysts hoped would also break the months-long deadlock in Washington over passing more stimulus to help the US economy recover from the pandemic.
The Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is unlikely to offer much in the way of specifics in its statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, besides repeating its commitment to keep the benchmark borrowing rate at zero for the foreseeable future.
But Fed Chair Jerome Powell could take the opportunity at his press conference following the meeting to signal a willingness to find new tools to help the economy, after the bank earlier this year pumped trillions of dollars of liquidity into the financial system and cut the lending rate.
US Elections: Indian American Maintains Narrow Lead In Arizona Congressional Race
Indian American emergency room physician Dr Hiral Tipirneni has maintained a narrow lead over her Republican incumbent in an Arizona Congressional race, which as of Wednesday night was too close to call.
If elected, Mumbai-born Tipirneni would be the second Indian American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. Pramila Jayapal, the first, was re-elected for her third consecutive term on Tuesday.
Dr Tipirneni would also be the second Indian American doctor after Dr Ami Bera to be elected to the House. Dr Bera has been re-elected for the fifth consecutive term from California.
By Wednesday evening, Dr Tipirneni, 52, had a lead of less than 2,000 votes against Republican incumbent David Schweikert, who is facing an ethics investigation in the House.
If elected, the Indian American will become the second Democrat ever to represent the sixth Congressional District of Arizona.
US Election 2020 Results: Thousands Protest In New York, Detroit Ahead Of US Election Results
Thousands of Joe Biden supporters marched Wednesday evening in New York to demand every vote in the tight presidential election be counted, as some Donald Trump supporters protested in Detroit demanding a halt to ballot counting in the key state of Michigan. Read more
Thousands of Joe Biden supporters marched Wednesday evening in New York to demand every vote in the tight presidential election be counted, as some Donald Trump supporters protested in Detroit demanding a halt to ballot counting in the key state of Michigan. Read more
South Korea Says Will Maintain Solid Alliance With US Regardless Of Election Results: Report
South Korea's presidential Blue House said it would maintain a "solid" alliance with the United States regardless of the presidential election results, according to media reports on Thursday.
US Elections: Residents of Thulasendrapuram, the native village of US Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Tiruvarur district, make rangoli to show their support for her.
"We believe that after winning US Elections 2020, she'll come and meet us," says a local.
Which US States Are Still Counting Votes And When Will They Be Done?
The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as several states continued to count their ballots, including some of the most competitive battlegrounds where the tally could take days to complete.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over Republican President Donald Trump with 227 to 213 electoral votes. That leaves 98 electoral votes to be allocated, and possible paths to victory for both candidates. The winner needs to secure 270 votes.
Here is the state of play in nine states. The vote counts are supplied by Edison Research.
Alaska
Trump has a wide lead and is broadly expected to carry the state. Still, just 56% of the expected vote has been counted, with Trump ahead by 62.9% to 33%.
Arizona
Biden has a significant lead, and the Associated Press and Fox News have already called the state for the Democrat. With 86% of the expected vote counted, Biden leads with 50.7% against 47.9% for Trump, according to Edison Research.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told ABC News that Maricopa County, which includes heavily populated Phoenix, had about 400,000 outstanding ballots to be counted and would release more results later on Wednesday.
Georgia
Trump is holding onto a narrow lead, but several of the large counties around Atlanta that lean Democratic have substantial numbers of ballots still to count. With 95% of the expected vote counted, Trump is ahead with 49.7% versus 49% for Biden.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he hoped to have a result by the end of Wednesday.
Under Georgia law, if the margin between the candidates is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage point, a candidate may request a recount within two business days following the certification of results.
Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit to require that Chatham County, which includes Savannah, separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted. The campaign said it had received information that late-arriving ballots in the county were improperly mingled with valid ballots.
Maine
Maine is one of two states that divide their Electoral College votes between the winner of the statewide popular vote and the winner in each of its congressional districts.
Edison Research has allocated Biden two votes for the statewide outcome, which he leads by 53.8% to 43.2% with 87% of the state's expected votes counted. It also called the state's 1st Congressional District for Biden, giving him a third electoral vote from the state.
Trump has a lead of 51.4% to 45.1% in the state's 2nd Congressional District. The Associated Press projected Trump the winner of the state's fourth vote on Wednesday, with only 53.7% of the expected vote in.
Michigan
Biden has a growing margin, with CNN and NBC projecting Biden the winner there just before 4.30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Wednesday. Biden leads Trump by 50.3% to 48.1% with 99% of the state's expected votes counted.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on Wednesday night that all valid ballots in the state had been counted, and that a lawsuit by Trump seeking to halt counting of votes there was "frivolous."
Nevada
Long seen as a solid Biden-leaning state, Nevada now appears in play. Edison Research data shows 86% of the expected vote is in and Biden's lead is just 49.3% to 48.7% for Trump.
State officials expect the remaining votes - largely mail-in ballots - to be counted by 9 a.m. PST (1700 GMT) on Thursday. Clark County, the state's largest and home to Las Vegas, has tallied 84% of expected votes so far and Biden is ahead there 52.9% versus 45.4% for Trump.
North Carolina
The margin between Trump and Biden is less than 2 percentage points as the president clings to a lead of 50.1% to 48.7% for the Democrat, with 95% of the expected vote counted.
The state allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday to be counted if they are received by Nov. 12. On Wednesday morning, the Biden campaign said it expected a final result to take several days, and state officials said later on Wednesday that a full result would not be known until next week.
Pennsylvania
Of the battleground states, Pennsylvania has the furthest to go in counting votes, and Trump so far maintains a lead. With 88% of the expected vote counted, Trump is up 50.8% to 47.9% for Biden.
Officials there can accept mailed-in ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Tuesday. About 1 million votes remain to be counted, Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said on Wednesday.
If the margin of victory is within half of 1%, state law requires a recount.
The Trump campaign said on Wednesday it was suing to temporarily halt vote counting in Pennsylvania and also asked to intervene in a U.S. Supreme Court case over mail-in ballots in the state, which could determine the winner of the election.
Wisconsin
The Trump campaign said on Wednesday it would request a recount of votes in Wisconsin, where the margin between the candidates is less than 1 percentage point.
Biden is up 49.4% to 48.8% for Trump with 99% of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison Research. Edison said that it would not call a race in Wisconsin or any state where the margin is narrow enough to allow a candidate to demand a recount under state law. Some media outlets, including NBC and the Associated Press, projected Biden the winner.
Joe Biden Vows To Rejoin Paris Climate Deal On First Day In Office
Joe Biden vowed Wednesday that the US would rejoin the Paris climate accord on his first day in the White House, hours after the withdrawal ordered by Donald Trump took effect.
"Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it," Biden tweeted as returns from Tuesday's election showed him in a strong position to defeat Trump.
US Election 2020 Results: Kamala Harris's Grandfather's Village In Tamil Nadu Roots For Her Victory
Amid the delay and drama over the counting of votes in US presidential elections, thousands of miles away in India, villagers at the ancestoral village of Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris are waiting with bated breadth to see the outcome of the elections. Read more
Amid the delay and drama over the counting of votes in US presidential elections, thousands of miles away in India, villagers at the ancestoral village of Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris are waiting with bated breadth to see the outcome of the elections. Read more
Joe Biden Takes Big Stride To Winning Presidency, Donald Trump Claims Fraud
Democrat Joe Biden took a huge step Wednesday to capturing the White House, with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but President Donald Trump responded with fury as his campaign sued to suspend vote counting.
In a brief address on national television, flanked by American flags and his vice presidential pick Kamala Harris, Biden said he wasn't yet declaring victory, but that "when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."
By flipping the northern battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden reached 264 electoral votes against 214 so far for Trump. By adding the six of Nevada, where he is narrowly ahead, or the larger prizes of hard-fought Georgia or Pennsylvania, Biden would hit the magic number of 270 needed to win the White House.
In stark contrast to Trump's increasingly heated rhetoric about being cheated, Biden sought to project calm, reaching out to a nation torn by four years of polarizing leadership and traumatized by the Covid-19 pandemic, with new daily infections Wednesday close to hitting 100,000 for the first time.
"I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things," Biden, 77, said.
"But I also know this as well: to make progress we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies. What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart."
Donald Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit Over Georgia County Ballot Sorting
US President Donald Trump's reelection campaign on Wednesday said it had filed a lawsuit in Georgia to require that Chatham County separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted.
The lawsuit, brought against the Chatham County Board of Elections, asked a judge to order the county to secure and account for ballots received after 7 p.m. on Election Day, according to a court document released by the campaign.
The campaign said it filed the suit after receiving information that late-arriving ballots in the county, which includes Savannah, were improperly mingled with valid ballots.
"President Trump and his team are fighting for the good of the nation to uphold the rule of law, and Georgia's law is very clear: to legally count, mail ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day," deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said in a statement.
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