US election 2020: Biden takes Georgia to solidify victory
- Published
US President-elect Joe Biden has won the state of Georgia, the BBC projects, the first Democratic candidate to do so since 1992.
The win solidifies Mr Biden's victory, giving him a total of 306 votes in the electoral college - the system the US uses to choose its president.
Georgia and North Carolina are the last states to be decided. Donald Trump is projected to win in North Carolina, giving him 232 electoral votes.
But he still refuses to concede.
President Trump has launched a flurry of legal challenges in key states and levelled unsubstantiated allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
Mr Biden's 306 electoral votes equal the tally Mr Trump, a Republican, achieved in his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. At the time Mr Trump referred to it as "a landslide".
On Friday Mr Trump and his supporters showed no sign of recognising Mr Biden as president-elect.
"President Trump believes he will be President Trump, have a second term," White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News.
Mr Trump took to Twitter, thanking those who supported his claim that the election was "rigged". He suggested he might join them at a rally planned in Washington on Saturday.
The unsubstantiated claims came hours after US election officials said the vote was the "most secure in American history".
"Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double-checking the entire election process prior to finalising the result," the Election Infrastructure Government Co-ordinating Council said in statement.
"While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too," it added, without naming Mr Trump.
Hours earlier, Mr Trump tweeted that voting software used in 28 states had deleted millions of votes for him, but presented no evidence. The claim appeared to originate from the obscure TV network One America News (OANN) and was flagged by Twitter as disputed.
President Trump has kept a low public profile since the election but he made a rare appearance on Friday when he led a briefing of the coronavirus task force in the White House Rose Garden.
He made no reference to the election but at one point appeared to acknowledge the possibility of a new administration.
"Ideally, we won't go to a lockdown. This administration will not be going to a lockdown. Whatever happens in the future - who knows which administration will be. I guess time will tell," he said.
Despite Mr Trump's refusal to accept defeat, pressure was growing on him to acknowledge Mr Biden's victory and help prepare the transition from one administration to another.
A group of more than 150 former national security officials has warned that delaying the transition posed "a serious risk to national security".
In a letter, they urged the General Services Administration - the government agency tasked with beginning the transition process - to officially recognise Mr Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris so that they could access "pressing national security issues".
Also, a small but growing number of Republicans are backing calls for President-elect Biden to be given daily intelligence briefings.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, was among those saying Mr Biden should start receiving the secret presidential memo, as is usual with incoming presidents.
Between 10 and 20 Republicans in Congress have now either congratulated Mr Biden or accepted there must be moves towards a transition. But most have yet to acknowledge the president-elect's win.
Correspondents say Republican lawmakers are anxious not to alienate the Trump base, given that the president just won more votes than any incumbent ever, even though he is projected to lose.