US Election 2020 Results highlights: Voting has concluded and results continue to pour in from across the United States. Democratic Party candidate and former vice president Joe Biden is taking on Republican Party’s nominee and incumbent President Donald Trump. California Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence are their respective running mates. Biden is leading Trump in the overall Electoral College vote tally. But, things can still change as the margins are narrowing in multiple battleground states. Yet, Trump has moved courts in three states over the ballot counting process. Voters were urged to vote early this time, especially through mail-in ballots, to avoid queues amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 101 million early votes had been cast. Additionally, about 26.8 million mail ballots are yet to be returned to polling authorities. Thus, over 101 million votes would have been cast and recorded even before the Election Day. Voters had already cast about 73.4 percent of the total votes counted in the 2016 presidential election, even before Election Day. But counting of mail ballots is more laborious and that is delaying the result.
Who's ahead in the battleground states (as of 1.30 pm IST):
> Biden has either won, or is leading in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
> Trump has either won, or is leading in Georgia, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Watch out for what happens in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia in the next few hours.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Reports say Democrats will win Nevada as Joe Biden widens lead
Some news coming out of Nevada, where Joe Biden has widenedhis lead, according to Jon Ralston, editor of the Nevada Independent. He says he sees "no path left for Trump here".
What is significant is that with The Associated Press calling Arizona for Biden and his Electoral Votes now at 264, Nevada could help him reach 270--- the magic number. What is of note here is that Arizona remains too close to call and networks such as CNN have not called the state for Biden yet.
Trump narrowly lost Nevada in 2016 as the state has trended toward the Democrats in the past decade. The last Republican presidential contender to win the state was George W. Bush in 2004.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Facebook removes pro-Trump group for false election claims and some members calling for violence
Facebook hastaken down a rapidly growing group where supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump posted misinformation, violent rhetoric and organized protests against the baseless claim that Democrats were stealing the election. The group had ballooned to more than 365,000 members in one day.
"In line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension, we have removed the Group 'Stop the Steal,' which was creating real-world events," said a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement.
"The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group."
The "Stop the Steal" group, which called for "boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote," had prepared for Facebook to take action, directing new members to an email sign-up page "in the event that social media censors this group." (Reuters)
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PennsylvaniaSecretary of State Kathy Boockvar has told CNN that the results for the state could be known by the end of the day.
"I think there's about 550,000some-odd — plus or minus — ballotsthat are still in the process ofbeing counted today.Some of those may have alreadybeen counted but are not yetuploaded. But yeah, they'recoming in," she said, adding that the results "definitely" could be known by the end of the day.
Donald Trump is leading in the state, but his lead is shrinking there.
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CNN has reported that Joe Gloria, who is the election official from Clark County, has said workers are planning to count "a little over 51,000 ballots today". These he said will be posted on Friday morning.
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CNN is now reporting that Donald Trump's lead over Joe Biden has shrunk inPennsylvania.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Georgia Secretary of State in a tweet:
With counting continuing in numerous counties throughout Georgia, as of 12:45 p.m. today there are approximately 50,401 ballots still outstanding.
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Here is a look at the situation in the key states that are still up for grabs, and paths to victory for each candidate:
Nevada:Joe Biden is leading here and the statecould put him precisely at the number needed to win, if he keeps Arizona. With more than 87 percent of the vote counted, Biden was leading by about 12,000 votes, according to CNN.
North Carolina:In North Carolina, Trump had a comfortable lead of about 77,000 votes with 95 percent of the ballots, about 5.38 million, tabulated.
Georgia:In Georgia just after midday, Biden lagged Trump by just over 13,500 votes with about 98 percent counted.But he could pull in the lion's share of the final votes being counted, which include thousands in Democratic-leaning areas.
Pennsylvania: The stateis the biggest prize remaining, with 20 electoral votes. As in Georgia, Trump is currently leading, but the majority of votes left to be counted are in Democratic-leaning areas like greater Philadelphia.
Arizona:One wild card that could upset these calculations: Arizona. Fox News and the Associated Press have already called the race in Biden's favor, but other networks including CNN and NBC have said the race is still too close to call.
US Election Result 2020 LIVE Updates | In Joe Biden's hometown, supporters, journalists play waiting game
In Joe Biden's hometown of Wilmington, residents anxiously check their phones for updates and run errands to keep themselves busy, as journalists twiddle their thumbs in hotel lobbies -- all waiting for the winner of the knife-edge presidential election to be announced.
"It's exhausting. I've had maybe two hours of sleep since Tuesday," says 55-year-old Zanthia Oliver, who has just been elected to a second term on Wilmington's city council.
Biden supporter Oliver was trying to distract herself as the pain-staking process of counting votes drags on in five states, including the key battlegrounds of Pennsylvania and Georgia.
"I'm just running some errands, just trying to keep busy" she said.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Donald Trump wins first legal battle in Pennsylvania
US President Donald Trump scored the first legal battle in the battleground state of Pennsylvania wherein an appellate judge has ordered that poll watchers must be allowed within six feet of counting of votes.
"Big legal win in Pennsylvania," Trump said in a tweet soon after the court gave the ruling. Trump is currently leading in Pennsylvania, but his vote count has reduced considerably over the last one day.
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Shares jump as Joe Biden edges toward victory, dollar slips
The dollar slipped and tech stocks rallied further on Thursday as Democrat Joe Biden drew closer to winning the U.S. presidency while the Bank of England became the latest central bank to say it will increase stimulus.
Investors leapt on the prospect of gridlock in Congress and the notion Silicon Valley will be spared greater oversight as the Democrats are unlikely to win control of the Senate. (Reuters)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | 98% of votes counted in Georgia
Over 98 percent of votes in Georgia, where Donald Trump is leading by a thin margin, have been counted, CNN is reporting.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | U.S. will order twice daily sweeps for states still receiving ballots
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said Thursday he will sign an order requiring twice daily sweeps at U.S. Postal facilities serving states with extended ballot receipt deadline.
Some states, including Nevada and North Carolina, are counting ballots that are received after Election Day. Plaintiffs lawyers in an ongoing lawsuit said the Postal Service delivered roughly 150,000 ballots on Wednesday. Of those, roughly 8,000 or 9,000, were delivered after Tuesday even though they had been mailed by Sunday. (Reuters)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Joe Biden's lead improves slightly in Nevada
In Nevada, meanwhile, Joe Biden's lead has grown slightly, The Guardian is reporting. Biden's lead, with the latest batch of ballots, has reportedly increased to about 12,000 votes.
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From Pennsylvania, CNN is reporting that a court has ruled Donald Trump campaign observers could stand closer to watching ballot processing inPhiladelphia. Reacting to this, Trump tweeted:Big legal win in Pennsylvania!
US Election Result 2020 LIVE Updates | Georgia judge dismisses Donald Trump campaign's lawsuit
A judge in Georgia has dismissed the Donald Trump campaign's lawsuit over absentee ballots in the state, The Guardian is reporting.
The Trump campaign had on Wednesday evening filed a lawsuit in state court in Chatham County, Georgia. Unlike the Pennsylvania and Michigan actions, that lawsuit is not asking a judge to halt ballot counting.
Instead, the campaign said it received information that late-arriving ballots were improperly mingled with valid ballots, and asked a judge to enter an order making sure late-arriving ballots were separated so they would not be counted.
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The counting of mail-in ballots in Philadelphia has been temporarily halted as Democrats ask the state's top court to reverse a lower court ruling on ballot count observers, MSNBC has reported. (Reuters)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Donald Trump's lead in Georgia narrows further
According to CNN, Donald Trump's lead in battleground state of Gerogia continues to narrow as votes are being counted. The Guardian has reported that after an update from Fulton County, Trump's lead over Joe Biden stands at 0.3 percent of the total vote.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Joe Biden campaign urges supporters: 'Stay patient'
Joe Biden’s campaign is expressing optimism at the ultimate result of the election but warning supporters to “stay patient and stay calm” as vote counting continues.
Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said Thursday on a briefing call with reporters that “the story of today is going to be a very positive story” for their campaign, but cautioned that as the counting continues, “we need to allow it to get done and get done well.”
She saidthe campaign expects their lead to fluctuate in some states as more votes come in. (AP)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | All recent Biden claimed states will be legally challenged by us, tweets Donald Trump
Donald Trump, meanwhile, continues to tweet. In his latest tweet, he has said that his campaign will be legally challenging "all of the recent Biden claimed states".
"All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud. Plenty of proof - just check out the Media. WE WILL WIN! America First! (sic)," Trump tweeted.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Donald Trump backers converge on vote centers in Michigan, Arizona
Dozens of angry supporters of President Donald Trump converged on vote-counting centers in Detroit and Phoenix as the returns went against him Wednesday in the two key states, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete tally of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities across the U.S.
“Stop the count!” the Trump supporters chanted in Detroit. “Stop the steal!” they said in Phoenix.
The protests came as the president insisted without evidence that there were major problems with the voting and the ballot counting, especially with mail-in votes, and as Republicans filed suit in various states over the election. (AP)
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Arizona states officials have said that there are about 450,000 ballots left to be counted in the state. The Associated Press has already called the state for Joe Biden.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Joe Biden's campaign to speak at 11 a.m. ET
Joe Biden's campaign is set to speak at 11:00 am ET and give an update on the state of race, CNN has reported.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Which states could tip US election and when will they report results?
The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Thursday as five swing states continued to count their ballots.
To capture the White House, a candidate must amass at least 270 votes in the Electoral College.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Gerogia election official says 60,000 votes left to count
A Georgia election official has said that there are about 60,000 votes left to count in the state, where Donald Trump is leading by a thin margin.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Campaign is over, rhetoric needs to go away, says Pennsylvania attorney general
Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro said that he is not going to let anyone stop the process of counting and criticised Donald Trump's campaign for suing to halt counting, The Guardian has reported.
"I’m not going to let anyone stop that process of counting,"Shapiro told MSNBC. "These are legal votes. They will be counted".
"The rhetoric needs to go away,"Shapiro said. "The campaign is over".
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Here's a recap of what has happened over the course of past couple of hours:
>Trump's lead in Georgia narrowed further after Fulton County released results from 8,000 more ballots.
> Trump's campaign will make a "major announcement" in Las Vegas. According to Fox News, the campaign is expected to file a lawsuit challenging the vote in Nevada.
>Russia said that there are'obvious shortcomings' in US election system.
> Joe Biden tweeted, 'Every vote must be counted'.
> Biden's lead in Arizona shrank against Donald Trump, CNN reported.
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Donald Trump has tweeted again, saying, in all caps, "Any vote that came in after Election Day will not be counted!" This tweet has been flagged by Twitter, stating, "Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process."
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CNN is reporting thatFulton County in Georgia is about to wrap up its votes. Trump has held onto to a lead of 0.4 percentage points, or 18,540 votes, in the statewith 4percent of the vote left to be counted.Results could be expected by noon EST, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Election demonstrators arrested in Seattle and Portland
Police in Seattle and Portland, Oregon arrested more than a dozen people as hundreds took to the streets to demand a full count of all presidential election votes and a halt to President Donald Trump's court challenges to stop counts in some key battleground states, officials said.
Seven people were arrested on Capitol Hill in Seattle and one person who was being arrested for allegedly damaging property was taken to a hospital after “experiencing a medical episode,” police said in a statement.
Others were arrested on suspicion of obstruction, pedestrian interference, property damage, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. (AFP)
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Meanwhile, Joe Biden's lead in Arizona has shrunk against Donald Trump, CNN has reported. The Associated Press has already called the state for Biden.
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Key states could settle US election Thursday with final vote counts
The US presidential election could be settled Thursday as a handful of battleground states complete their vote counts.
Democrat Joe Biden has racked up 264 of the 270 electoral votes that he needs -- if Arizona is included, which Donald Trump's team says could still swing in his direction. Without Arizona, he has 253.
Republican President Trump only has 214 electoral votes. Expected to report Thursday are Georgia (16 electoral votes), North Carolina (15), and Nevada (6).
However, mail ballots sent on or before election day in North Carolina can be counted until November 12. (AFP)
US Election Results 2020 LIVE Updates | Donald Trump campaign to file lawsuit challenging Nevada vote
U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign planned to make a announcement in Las Vegas on Thursday at 11:30 ETon what is expected to be a lawsuit challenging the vote in Nevada.
The Trump campaign, which has already filed lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop vote counting, planned to allege voter fraud in a lawsuit in Nevada, Fox News reported.
In Wisconsin, the campaign has asked for a recount. (Reuters)
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Donald Trump again seeks to stop the counting of votes
With Joe Biden edging closer to unseating him from the White House, President Donald Trump says he wants to put a halt to vote counting.
The extraordinary statement by an incumbent president to voice support for ceasing the count of legally cast votes came in a tweet, saying only: “STOP THE COUNT!”
Elections are run by individual state, county and local governments. Trump’s public comments have no impact on the tallying of votes across the country. (AFP)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Russia says 'obvious shortcomings' in US election system
Russia's foreign ministrysaid outdated legislation and a lack of regulation had revealed flaws in the US electoral system, as votes were being tallied to decide the next American president.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that both candidates had an equal chance of winning and pointed out "obvious shortcomings in the American electoral system."
"This is partly due to the archaic nature of the relevant legislation and a lack of regulation in a number of fundamental points," she said during her weekly press briefing. (AFP)
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There are certain important and interesting firsts (overall firsts or firsts in a long while, to be fair)about this time's election. For instance, if Donald Trump loses the election, he will be the first one to lose a re-election bid since 1992.
Take a look at some of the other such interesting facts here.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | When will the results come in?
As we wait for the states to finish counting and, eventually, get a clearer picture as to who is leading and--- if we are lucky--- who has won, take a look at some of the modalities of that process.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Donald Trump campaign to make announcement in Las Vegas
U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign planned to make an announcement in Las Vegas on Thursday at 11:30 ET (which is around 10:30pm IST).
The news conference will feature former intelligence official Richard Grenell, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp and Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald, the statement said.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Here's an update now on the legal battles which are going to play out in the coming days:
Michigan ballot-counting:Donald Trump's campaign saidit had filed a lawsuit in Michigan to stop state officials from counting ballots. The campaign said the case in the Michigan Court of Claims seeks to halt counting until it has an election inspector at each absentee-voter counting board. The campaign also wanted to review ballots that were opened and counted before an inspector from its campaign was present.
Pennsylvania court battles:Republican officials have sued election officials in Montgomery County, which borders Philadelphia, accusing them of illegally counting mail-in ballots early and giving voters who submitted defective ballots a chance to re-vote.At a hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Timothy Savage in Philadelphia appeared skeptical of their allegations and how the integrity of the election might be affected.
Georgia ballot fight:The Trump campaign on Wednesday evening filed a lawsuit in state court in Chatham County, Georgia. Unlike the Pennsylvania and Michigan actions, that lawsuit is not asking a judge to halt ballot counting. Instead, the campaign said it received information that late-arriving ballots were improperly mingled with valid ballots, and asked a judge to enter an order making sure late-arriving ballots were separated so they would not be counted. (Reuters)
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CNN is also reporting that there are about50,000 votes left to be counted in Georgia. Georgia, where Donald Trump is leading by a slim margin, is yet to be called.
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There are about28,000 mail-in ballots left to be counted inBucks County,Philadelphia, CNN has reported quoting a county official. The official added that they should be able to wrap up the counting today.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Now, let's take a look at some of the states which have not yet been called and their statuses there
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Georgia:Outstanding ballots left to be counted in counties where Biden has performed well.The race is too early to call because an estimated 4 percentof the vote remains to be counted, The Associated Press has said.
Nevada:About 75 percentof the votes are in and Biden leads by less than 8,000 votes.But there are outstanding ballots left to be counted in the coming days. Under state law, they can still be accepted so long as they were postmarked by Election Day, on Nov. 3.
Pennsylvania:More than 1 million votes left to be counted, according to AP.Pennsylvania is among a handful of battleground states Trump and Biden are narrowly contesting.
US Election 2020 Result LIVE Updates | With another Florida loss, Democrats begin second guessing
Perhaps only in Florida is a loss by fewer than 4 percentage points considered a public drubbing.In a state famous for razor-thin margins, the size of former Vice President Joe Biden's loss to President Donald Trump was humiliating for Democrats and sent many searching for answers to how they failed to close the deal with voters — again.
Democrats zeroed in on two clear explanations: Biden didn't connect with the state's Latino voters, performing particularly poorly with Cuban voters in South Florida. They also second-guessed the party's decision to freeze in-person organizing during the worst of the pandemic, a decision that set them back in reaching voters. (AP)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | 140,000 outstanding mail-in ballots left to be counted in Philadelphia County
Around140,000 outstanding mail-in ballots are yet to be counted in Pennsylvania's Philadelphia County,CNN has reported quoting a source involved with the canvassing in Philadelphia.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | OSCE accuses Donald Trump of 'gross abuse of office'
The head of an international observer mission to the US elections,Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),accused Donald Trump of a "gross abuse of office" after the president alleged he was being cheated and demanded that vote counting be halted.
"The most disturbing thing was that with presidential fanfare of the White House, that is, with all the insignia of power, the American commander-in-chief called for an end to the count because of his purported victory," Michael Link told the German daily Stuttgarter Zeitung.
"That was a gross abuse of office," he said, adding that Trump's "claims of manipulation are baseless". (AFP)
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Some interesting facts about Election 2020:
As we wait for further updates, it's worth noting some interesting facts about the electionthis year (apart from the fact that it was held amid a raging pandemic).
For instance, Joe Biden managed to break former President Barack Obama'srecord for most votes in US election history. This election also saw the highest voter turnout in at least 100 years.
That is not to mention that irrespective of whoever wins the race to White House, he is going to be the oldest President in US history.
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In Midwest battlegrounds, the virus met another concern: the Economy
When Americans voted in this presidential election, they made it clear that of all the crucial issues facing the country, the coronavirus pandemic towered over the rest. They remained diametrically opposed, however, on how the pandemic reflected on President Donald Trump.
In the Midwest — states that were battlegrounds in the presidential race and where the virus has soared — supporters of Trump defended his handling of the crisis, praised his efforts to revive the economy and echoed his suggestions that the virus’s dangers were overblown.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Donald Trump supporters protest outside Arizona vote center
Meanwhile, acrowd of Donald Trump supporters, some armed with rifles and handguns, gathered outside an election center in Arizona on Wednesday night after unsubstantiated rumors that votes for the Republican president were deliberately not being counted.
Chanting "Stop the steal!", and "Count my vote", the mostly unmasked protesters stood in front of the Maricopa County Elections Department in Phoenix, as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden held a razor thin lead in the critical battleground state. Some news outlets have called Arizona for Biden, but Trump's campaign says it is still in play.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Some more updates on where which state stands, in terms of counting:
Georgia:CNN is reporting that Georgia added8,300 ballots into its tally, further cutting into Donald Trump's lead in the state. A source told CNN that Trump might demand a recount there if he loses and if the race is close.
Nevada:Joe Biden is leading here, but it's slim: 8,000 votes. Clark County, which has the largest share of votes in Nevada, will update at 12:00 noon ET.
Pennsylvania:Around750,000 mail-in ballots remainto be counted in the state, according to CNN.However, this figure has not been updated recently.
US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates | Kamala Harris' ancestral village in India gets festive as Biden leads count
Villagers in the ancestral home of Kamala Harris painted slogans on roads wishing her victory, as Joe Biden, her Democrat running mate in the U.S. presidential election, moved closer to the White House.
Thulasendrapuram, located about 320 km (200 miles) south of Chennai, is where Harris's maternal grandfather was born more than a century ago.
"From yesterday, we are excited about the final result," said Abirami, a resident of the village. "Now, we are hearing positive news. We are waiting to celebrate her victory." (Reuters)
