US elections: What you need to know right now in 500 words
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 very slim margins, adding to his advantage in the Electoral College.
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 projected win for Biden in Pennsylvania would signal he has more than 270 votes in the Electoral College enough to make him the next president of the US.
With counts of mail ballots nearing an end, Americans and the world may know on Friday who the apparent winner of the election is. But that will not be the end of it.
Recounts appear inevitable in several key states because of narrow margins and President Donald Trump is planning to challenge the results in court. He has already attacked the entire process as rigged on Twitter and in a White House appearance on Thursday night.
Demonstrators gather outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center where votes are being counted, Friday, November 6, 2020, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US [Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]
Biden’s campaign is assembling a team of lawyers in anticipation of protecting 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 have 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 is leading 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 but where mail ballots have cut that down.
Trump tweeted at 2:22 am EST [07:22GMT] the votes still being counted are “illegal”. Twitter flagged the president’s tweet as “disputed” and potentially “misleading”.
I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST. The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. U.S. Supreme Court should decide!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2020
Some US television networks cut away from live coverage of Trump’s remarks from the White House on Thursday night in which he claimed the vote counting was illegal.
Republican office holders have been divided by Trump’s rhetoric.
In a message picked up by other House Republicans, Representative Adam Kinzinger tweeted Trump’s claims were “getting insane”.
We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation… This is getting insane.
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 6, 2020
Trump’s allies joined in the president’s accusations that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.
Senator Lindsey Graham announced on Fox News on Thursday night he will donate USD $500,000 to Trump’s legal fund to challenge the ballot counting and he urged Fox viewers who had helped him win re-election to contribute.
“The allegations of wrongdoing are earth shattering,” Graham claimed.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called this moment a “genuine, deep crisis” of the American system and called Democrats in Philadelphia “corrupt”.
A federal judge in Philadelphia dismissed a lawsuit by Trump’s campaign over how many observers it could have in the room where ballots are being counted after an agreement was reached.
Philadelphia police detained two people driving a military-style Hummer vehicle with QAnon symbols and a weapon who were suspected of planning to attack the building where election workers are counting votes.
In a federal court filing early on Friday in Washington, DC, the US Postal Service said it had found 1,700 ballots in Pennsylvania not yet delivered to election officials.