Why the US media is not yet declaring Joe Biden president-elect

The New York Times says 'Biden edges closer to victory'. CNN's main headline is 'Biden nears victory, but counts continue'. And while the Associated Press (and Fox News) have called Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden, AP is still not declaring Biden president-elect "because neither candidate has secured the 270 electoral college votes needed for victory".

In previous elections, the US media used a combination of exit polls and real results to predict, call or declare the outcomes of presidential votes in states. But the complexity of the 2020 election, with mail-in ballots coupled with "real life" voting, and different counting regimes in every state, has forced the major media houses to play it safe. 

Although all the cable networks and major news websites are strongly suggesting a Biden victory, none of the major news brands have called a defeat for President Donald Trump, who is aggressively disputing the results and launching legal battles. Biden himself hasn't stated outrightly that he has won the election.

CNN's political director David Chalian has explained that the channel has a dedicated team of statistical analysts who are continuously processing incoming votes from the battleground states; Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina. 

"All they do is, every single time vote comes in from one of these states, they plug it into their models and their formulas, trying to ascertain a very high level of confidence," in the results so that whoever is the number two person in these contests doesn't have a real possibility to overtake the number one person, Chalian explained on CNN.

A no-fly zone is in place over Joe Biden's home, and it's completely normal

The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has restricted the airspace over Joe Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware.

Temporary flight restrictions (TFR) first went info effect Wednesday afternoon and were expected to last until at least Saturday. The restrictions were extended until next Wednesday by a new notice to airmen (NOTAM) that went out early Friday morning.

ICYMI | Does Trump’s America offer a warning about populist leaders and how to manage elections? 

In this week’s edition of News24’s Friday Briefing, editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson argues that Trump’s America offers a warning about populist leaders and how to manage elections. Our opinions editor, Vanessa Banton, spoke to three experts about the US election and what how we should  interpret them. And assistant editor: in-depth news Pieter du Toit looked at South Africa’s MAGAs who shaped their own Trumpian fan-base here.

Trump activists are turning to alternative social networks after Facebook bans

Pro-Trump activists have found a new online home to protest vote-counting less than 24 hours after Facebook shut down an organising group of more than 365,000 members for breaking its policies around inciting violence.

Thousands have flocked to such groups on MeWe, a social platform emphasising users' rights and privacy that anti-lockdown protesters turned to earlier this year after they were kicked off Facebook. Nearly a dozen "Stop the Steal" groups have popped up since Thursday on MeWe, Business Insider has found, filled with posts claiming voter fraud and organising state-by-state protests of election results.

ANALYSIS | US 2020 presidential poll: An election of game changers 

The Covid-19 pandemic and the collapse of the economy were game changers in the US presidential election, writes Theo Venter. 

White House Chief of Staff tests positive for Covid-19 

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who has frequently appeared at public events without wearing a mask, has been diagnosed with Covid-19, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

It was not immediately clear when or how he was infected.

Meadows regularly accompanied US President Donald Trump on the final frenzied days of the campaign rallies leading up to the presidential election on Tuesday.

Meadows, who was at a White House election night party attended by dozens of Trump loyalists, is the latest official within Trump's close circle to have contracted Covid-19, which has killed more than 230,000 Americans.

Trump, his wife Melania and son Barron all previously fought off the coronavirus infection, as has Trump's national security adviser Robert O'Brien.

- Reuters

Washington’s dirty little secret: Trump’s power is draining away

Even if Donald Trump fails to accept that he has lost the election and remains in the White House, the inauguration will take place, writes John Matisonn.

Image: Getty Images

Biden lead widens in US election, but no victory call yet

Democrat Joe Biden moved closer to winning the White House on Friday as he expanded his lead over President Donald Trump in battleground states, but television networks held off from declaring him the victor as officials continued to count votes.

Trump remained defiant, vowing to press unfounded claims of fraud as a weary, anxious nation waited for clarity in an election that only intensified the country's deep polarization. Republicans sought to raise $60 million to fund lawsuits challenging the results.

On the fourth day of vote counting, former Vice President Biden had a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research.

Securing Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes would put Biden over the 270 he needs to win the presidency after a political career stretching back nearly five decades. Biden would also win if he prevails in two of the three other key states where he was narrowly ahead on Friday: Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.

Biden had planned a victory speech for Friday night, anticipating that the race would be called in his favour, according to staffers. But with the vote counting dragging on, staffers and allies said he would give a scaled-back speech.

"You will likely hear an update on the race in which he'll convey his confidence in the system, his optimism about the ultimate outcome and his determination to lead a responsible path forward rather than some pronouncement that might make all of us feel better and allow us to go to sleep sooner," said Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a Biden ally.

- Reuters

Supreme Court denies immediate halt of Pennsylvania count

A US Supreme Court justice on Friday denied a request by Pennsylvania's Republicans to immediately halt the counting of ballots arriving after Election Day -- referring the challenge to the full court for a ruling on Saturday.

Samuel Alito ordered Pennsylvania in the meantime to continue keeping the late-arriving ballots separate, affirming a decision already made by the state's top elections official.

The last-ditch petition for an emergency injunction -- filed as Democrat Joe Biden solidified his lead and was poised to defeat President Donald Trump -- targeted thousands of ballots. Most are believed to favour Biden, and Republicans say they should be disqualified under Pennsylvania state law.

Is Rupert Murdoch dumping Trump? 

Fox News and the New York Post, magnate Rupert Murdoch's main media outlets, have started distancing themselves from Donald Trump as the US election vote counting drama drags on -- a first since the president came to power and a potential turning point.

On Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona, supporters of Trump bluntly shouted "Fox News Sucks" in reference to the news outfit considered fiercely loyal to the president for the past five years.

Fox News infuriated Trump and his people on election night by calling Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden.

US daily Covid-19 cases hit record for third day, topping 127,000: Johns Hopkins

As the elections dominate the United States, the country set a third straight daily record for new Covid-19 infections, notching more than 127,000 cases, John Hopkins University reported Friday.

Meanwhile, the death toll over the past 24 hours was 1,149, the Baltimore-based university said. This is far below the levels of spring when the pandemic first hit, but it is still the fourth day in a row with more than 1,000 deaths -- a rate not seen since August.

As of Friday evening, the US - the worst hit country in the world in terms of deaths and total cases - had more than 236,000 coronavirus-related fatalities and 9.7 million known infections.

- AFP

When will the states that could tip the US election be done counting?

Democratic candidate Joe Biden's margins over Republican President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania and Georgia grew on Friday, as the vote counts in five battleground states trickled in.

To capture the White House, a candidate must amass at least 270 votes in the Electoral College. CNN has given Biden a 253-214 lead over Trump.

Here is the state of play in the five states (vote counts supplied by CNN).

PENNSYLVANIA (20 electoral votes)

Biden has a narrow lead with 96% of the estimated vote counted. Under Pennsylvania law, a recount is automatic if the margin of victory is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage point of the total vote.

There are still ballots to be counted in Philadelphia, the state's largest city, and Allegheny county, home to Pittsburgh, which started to report votes on Friday evening. The majority of ballots left in Philadelphia are provisional and military ballots, Pennsylvania's election commissioner said, adding the final count could take several days.

Friday is the last day that Pennsylvania can accept mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.

GEORGIA (16 electoral votes)

Biden leads Trump, with 99% of the estimated vote counted.

Trump needs both Pennsylvania and Georgia to win a second term. Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, said he expects the margin to be just a few thousand votes, which will likely trigger a recount. A recount must wait until Georgia's results are certified, expected on or before November 20.

About 9,000 military and overseas ballots are still outstanding and could be accepted if they arrive on Friday as long as they were postmarked Tuesday or earlier.

ARIZONA (11 electoral votes)

Biden is also leading Trump in Arizona with 94% of the expected vote tallied.

The state has about 250,000 to 270,000 ballots left to count and will give an update at around 4am (SA time), Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told CNN earlier on Friday.

NEVADA (6 electoral votes)

Biden leads Trump with about 93% of the vote counted.

More votes are expected out of Clark county, which includes Las Vegas. The majority of mail-in ballots are expected to be counted by Sunday, according to local officials.

NORTH CAROLINA (15 electoral votes)

Trump leads Biden with about 98% of the estimated vote counted.

State officials have said a full result will not be known until next week. The state allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday to be counted if they are received by November 12.

ALASKA (3 electoral votes)

With only 47% of the votes counted, Trump is in the lead with 62.9% of the vote and is expected to win this state easily.

Joe Biden wins new set of ballot results in Pennsylvania by 4134 votes to 1076, as he increases his lead in the state to almost 20,000.

President Donald Trump on Friday told challenger Joe Biden not to "wrongfully claim" the White House as incomplete returns from the presidential election showed the Democrat close to an insurmountable lead.

"Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!" Trump tweeted.

Trump himself has repeatedly claimed that he won Tuesday's election, despite vote counts pointing strongly to him being made a one-term president.

- AFP

Joe Biden expands lead in Pennsylvania to 16,784 votes.

Joe Biden now leads in Arizona by 38,455.

Joe Biden expands lead in Nevada to 22,657 votes. 

JUST IN: Biden has expanded his lead in Georgia to 4,263 votes

Twitter flags 'president-elect Biden' posts as premature

Twitter on Friday flagged as premature posts referring to Joe Biden as "president-elect," as the vote count continued in the knife-edge US election with the Democrat leading Donald Trump in several key states.

Tweets referring to the former vice president with the victor's title and his running mate Kamala Harris as "vice president-elect" were tagged with messages saying counts were not yet final.

"Official sources may not have called the race when this was tweeted," read a Twitter message below a post from Democratic Coalition co-founder and podcaster Scott Dworkin using the two titles for Biden and Harris.

The notice came with a link to information about the status of the election.Twitter told AFP that the move was in line with its Civic Integrity Policy and in keeping with the position it has taken since the polls closed late Tuesday.

"We will label Tweets claiming victory that meet our criteria as both Pennsylvania and the presidential race overall have only been called by one source," a Twitter spokesman said."

Per our rules, until a second source makes this determination, claims of victory must cite a source that has made the call."

Democrat Joe Biden was on the verge of winning the White House after taking the lead in the potentially decisive state of Pennsylvania, as President Donald Trump showed no sign of being about to concede the bitterly contested race.

Trump's Republican Party moved to escalate the fight before the Supreme Court and the president himself vowed to challenge the results citing "illegal ballots" - while stopping short of repeating his incendiary claim that Democrats were trying to "steal" the vote.

Pennsylvania, and its 20 electoral votes, would be enough to vault the 77-year-old Biden past the magic number of 270 votes in the Electoral College, which determines the White House race.

In a sign of the confidence in the Democratic camp, Biden was planning an address to the nation Friday evening from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware where a large open-air stage had been set up in preparation.

With 96 percent of the vote counted in Pennsylvania, Biden had opened up a 14,500-vote lead over the Republican incumbent, according to state election results.

Biden currently has at least 253 electoral votes and is leading in three other states - Arizona, Georgia and Nevada - where ballots from Tuesday's bitterly contested election continue to be counted.

JUST IN | Republicans ask US Supreme Court to halt counting of ballots entered after 3 November

CNN reports that Pennsylvania Republicans are asking the US Supreme Court to order the state to not take any action on any mail-in ballots received after Election Day, 3 November.

The Pennsylvania secretary of state has already ordered any ballots that arrive between Wednesday, 4 November, and Friday, 6 November, be segregated from those that arrived by Election Day, pending ongoing litigation, and the state GOP’s request simply asks the court to enforce that action as well as order that “no action” is taken on the ballots.

'Republicans seeking to raise at least $60m to fund Trump's election legal challenges'

Sources have told Reuters that the Republican National Committee has reached out donors as it seeks to raise at least $60 million to fund legal challenges brought by President Donald Trump over the results of the US presidential election, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in several states following the Nov. 3 election pitting the president against Democrat Joe Biden.“They want $60 million,” said a Republican donor who received solicitations from the RNC.

- Reuters

RECAP | Biden on verge of winning US presidency, leads in Pennsylvania, Georgia as Trump threatens more legal action

Democrat Joe Biden stands on the verge of winning the US presidency, as he expands his narrow leads over President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia three days after polls closed.

Biden has a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research. Winning Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes would put the former vice president over the 270 he needs to secure the presidency.

Biden would also win the election if he takes two of the three other key states where he held narrow leads on Friday: Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.

As Biden inched closer to triumph, he was expected to address the nation on Friday evening, according to two people familiar with his plans. That may be a victory speech, given that his aides say Biden appears on the cusp of winning.

Meanwhile, Trump showed little sign he was ready to concede, making clear in a statement on Friday he would continue to press his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.

"From the beginning we have said that all legal ballots must be counted and all illegal ballots should not be counted, yet we have met resistance to this basic principle by Democrats at every turn," he said in a statement released by his campaign.

"We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government," Trump said.

The statement came a day after Trump leveled an extraordinary attack on the democratic process by a sitting president, appearing at the White House on Thursday evening to falsely claim the election was being "stolen" from him.

- Reuters

UPDATE | Biden's lead in Pennsylvania grows to 13 558

Biden appears to be on course to victory. Securing Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral votes, would see him crowned president. He is also leading Georgia and Navada, as things stand. 

Trump vows to pursue all legal challenges against election

Donald Trump has said his party will pursue legal avenues to ensure the public gets "transparency" into the voting. 

He said that there have been suspicions since the beginning of the voting process of illegal ballots slipping through the system, saying that they have faced "resistance" from Democrats about this.

Former Republican presidential nominee Romney blasts Trump for claiming election 'rigged'

Republican US Senator Mitt Romney said Friday it was wrong for Donald Trump - on the verge of losing the presidency to Joe Biden - to claim that the election was "rigged, corrupt and stolen" by Democratic rivals.

While the president is "within his rights" to request recounts and seek investigations into alleged voting irregularities, as his supporters claim occurred, "he is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen," said Romney, an occasional Trump critic.

"Doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the Republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions.

- AFP

JUST IN | Biden's lead in Pennsylvania increases

Joe Biden's lead in key state Pennsylvania has increased to 12 390 over Donald Trump.

Securing Pennsylvania would see Biden crowned president.

Crucial update in Pennsylvania expected about 21:00

About 95% of ballots in Pennsylvania have been counted, CNN reports.

Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by just 9 746 votes, with about 124 000 votes outstanding. 

Pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes up for grabs, and a win for Biden would secure him the White House.

Biden to address the US at about 04:00

CNN reports that Joe Biden, who is on the verge of victory, is due to make an address. 

Biden, so far, is in the lead in key battlegrounds, including Pennsylvania, where a victory will ensure he is named president. 

His running mate, Kamala Harris, is also expected to deliver an address. 

RECAP | White House in reach for Biden as he builds leads in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada

Democrat Joe Biden expanded his narrow leads over President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia on Friday, putting him on the verge of winning the White House three days after polls closed.

Biden has a 253 to 214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research. Winning Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes would put the former vice president over the 270 he needs to secure the presidency.

Biden would also win the election if he prevails in two of the three other key states where he held narrow leads on Friday: Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots on Friday.

In both Pennsylvania and Georgia, Biden overtook Trump on the strength of mail-in ballots that were cast in urban Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia and Atlanta.

With his re-election chances fading, Trump escalated his baseless attacks on the results, appearing at the White House on Thursday evening to falsely claim the election was being "stolen" from him.

As Biden moved closer to victory, hundreds of Democrats gathered outside Philadelphia's downtown vote-counting site, wearing yellow shirts that read, "Count Every Vote." In Detroit, a crowd of Trump supporters, some armed, protested outside the counting location, waving flags and chanting, "Fight!"

Trump's campaign is pursuing a series of lawsuits across battleground states, but legal experts described them as unlikely to succeed in altering the election outcome.

The campaign's general counsel, Matt Morgan, asserted in a statement on Friday that the elections in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania all suffered from improprieties and that Trump would eventually prevail in Arizona.

"This election is not over," he said. "Biden is relying on these states for his phony claim on the White House, but once the election is final, President Trump will be re-elected.

"He also said the campaign expected to pursue a recount in Georgia, as it has said it will do in Wisconsin, where Biden won by more than 20 000 votes.

Election officials across the nation have said they are unaware of any significant irregularities. Georgia officials said on Friday they expect a recount, which can be requested by a candidate if the final margin is less than 0.5%, as it currently is.

Biden expressed confidence on Thursday he would win and urged patience as votes were counted. In response to the idea that Trump might not concede, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement on Friday, "The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.

In Pennsylvania, Biden moved ahead of Trump for the first time and had a lead of 8 867 votes by late Friday morning while in Georgia, he was 1 579 votes ahead. Both margins were expected to grow as additional ballots were tallied.

- Reuters

Biden's lead grows in Nevada, dips in Arizona - reports

The Spectator has tweeted that Biden's lead in Arizona has fallen to 43 779 votes.

His lead in Nevada has doubled, now stands at 22 076 votes.

Georgia secretary of state says a vote recount is likely

Georgia's secretary of state says he expects a recount due to the small margin for the presidential election in the battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a small lead over Republican President Donald Trump.

The presidential candidates each had 49.4% of counted ballots, though Biden was ahead by just 1 579 votes with 4 169 left to count, Georgia's voting system implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling, said.

"With a margin that small, there will be a recount," Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, told reporters.

Officials said about 9 000 military and overseas ballots were still outstanding and could be accepted if they arrive on Friday and are postmarked on Tuesday or earlier.

There are two ways of seeking a recount in Georgia. A presidential candidate who loses by 0.5% of the vote or less can force a recount by sending a written request to the secretary of state, or a candidate can ask the secretary of state to conduct one by alleging a "discrepancy or error" in the vote tabulation. In that case, state law gives the secretary discretion about whether to conduct a recount.

Local election officials in Georgia also can conduct recounts in their counties if they think there is a discrepancy in the results.

The Southern state switched to new touch-screen voting machines this year. After a voter makes their choices, the machine produces a marked paper ballot that’s fed into a scanner that counts the vote.

Absentee voters – hundreds of thousands this year – filled out the same ballots, which also were fed into the scanners. If the scanner cannot read the ballot, a bipartisan group of election officials reviews it to determine whether or how it should be counted.

A recount essentially repeats that process, and in the past has not made big changes in the results. Because of that, a recount is considered unlikely to have a big effect on the state’s vote totals.

- Reuters

RECAP | A win in Pennsylvania will give Biden the presidency

As the United States awaits a winner in the presidential election, returns overnight put Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden ahead in Georgia and Pennsylvania by slim margins, adding to his advantage in the electoral votes.

With nearly five million votes counted in Georgia, Biden leads by just 1 096 votes. If it holds, it would flip the historically Republican state.

A win for Biden in Pennsylvania will give him more than 270 electorate votes - enough for the presidency.

With counts of mail ballots nearing an end, Americans and the world may know on Friday who the apparent winner is. But it will not end there.

Recounts appear inevitable as President Donald Trump is planning to challenge the results in several key states in court. He has already attacked the entire process as rigged on Twitter and in a White House appearance on Thursday night.

Biden’s campaign is assembling a team of lawyers to protect his electoral lead in the courts and is asking online donors for money, saying "the fight is not over".

The heavily Democratic city of Philadelphia in the key state of Pennsylvania is emerging as a hotspot in the dispute as the counting of mail ballots sliced President Trump’s early lead from in-person voting.

Biden is still leading in continuing counts in Arizona and Nevada, two southwest states that combined, could also give Biden an overall win. Trump leads in North Carolina.

In statements from the White House and on Twitter, Trump attacked the integrity of the election process in which in-person votes gave him an early lead in the count which was clipped by mail ballots.

- Al Jazeera

As the US presidential bid takes shape, with Democrat Joe Biden making significant gains en route the White House, CNN reported that Fox News is instructing its anchors not to call Joe Biden the "President-elect" when the network calls the race, according to two memos.

According to CNN, the memos emphasised that the network should report moves by Donald Trump's legal teams to challenge the results. "We will report both sides until there is further guidance," one memo said.

At the same time, Biden's campaign swiftly responded to news that Trump would not concede.

According to reports, Biden's campaign spokesperson said: "... the American people will decide this election. And the United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House".

US Donald Trump's campaign said Friday that "this election is not over" as his challenger Joe Biden edged closer to victory in the cliffhanger White House race.

"This election is not over," a statement from campaign general counsel Matt Morgan said while making further allegations of irregularities.

"The false projection of Joe Biden as the winner is based on results in four states that are far from final," it said.

- AFP

Democrat Joe Biden has taken the lead in key battleground state Pennsylvania, where a victory for the former vice president would push him past the threshold of electoral votes needed to win the White House.

More ballots are yet to be counted, but shortly before 1400 GMT, CNN and The New York Times reported that Biden had moved ahead of incumbent President Donald Trump by more than 5 500 votes.

Biden currently has at least 253 electoral votes. The magic number is 270. If he wins Pennsylvania - a state won by Trump in 2016 - and its 20 electoral votes, he would pass that threshold.

Biden is also currently in the lead in key states Georgia and Nevada.

- AFP

CNN is reporting that former US vice-president and Democratic candidate Joe Biden has taken the lead in Pennsylvania over President Trump.

The publication adds that Trump cannot be reelected if he doesn't win Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, no matter how many other states he wins.

US Secret Service to dispatch extra protection squad to Biden's HQ in Delaware

The extra security will be assigned to the Wilmington Convention Center in Delaware, where the Biden campaign is headquartered and where he could potentially make his victory speech today, according to the Independent.

However, with Trump unlikely to concede if Biden wins, the Secret Service may have to wait until the electoral college meets in December to certify the vote results before officially treating him as the president-elect, The Washington Post reported.

Donald Trump takes fighting stance as election swings toward Joe Biden

As former Vice President Joe Biden moved closer to winning the White House, President Donald Trump adopted a fighting posture on Thursday, making false claims to undermine a vote that was not going his way.

Trump worked from the Oval Office on Thursday in what was otherwise largely an empty West Wing. Many of his senior staff were huddled at the campaign's headquarters in nearby Virginia.

"He's very engaged, he's monitoring, talking to all the states. It doesn't look good, but this guy wants to keep fighting," said one Trump confidante, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"He's in a fighting mood right now. He's not melancholy or dejected. But the path is getting harder and harder."

Donald Trump Senate allies attack legitimacy of US election vote count

Two Senate allies of Donald Trump on Thursday warned that Republicans may reject the legitimacy of vote results if they turn against the embattled president.

As a few Republicans distanced themselves from Trump's unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in Tuesday's election, Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz enthusiastically backed him in back-to-back appearances on Fox News.