2020 US election: As of early Thursday, Biden had 3.6 million more votes than Trump nationwide (File)
Washington:
Democrat Joe Biden moved closer to victory in the US presidential race on Thursday as election officials counted the votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome and protesters took to the streets.
President Donald Trump has alleged fraud without providing evidence, filed lawsuits and called for recounts in a race yet to be decided two days after polling closed. He tweeted tonight, “STOP THE COUNT!”.
STOP THE ACCOUNT!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2020
The race ended to close competitions in five states. Biden held a narrow lead in Nevada and Arizona as Trump watched his slim advantage disappear in the must-see states of Pennsylvania and Georgia as mail and mail votes were counted. The Republican president also hung on to a narrow lead in North Carolina, another unmissable victory for him.
Trump had to win the states where he still led, as well as Arizona or Nevada to triumph and avoid becoming the first sitting U.S. president to lose a re-election bid since fellow Republican George H.W. Bush in 1992.
Edison Research gave Biden a 243 to 213 lead in electoral college votes, which are largely based on a state’s population. Other networks said Biden won Wisconsin, which would give him 10 more votes. To win, a candidate needs 270 votes.
The count and court challenges set the stage for days, if not weeks of uncertainty before the electoral college met on December 14 and the next president sworn in on January 20.
FINE RAZOR MARGINS
With tensions rising, about 200 Trump supporters, some armed with guns and handguns, gathered outside an election office in Phoenix, Ariz., On Wednesday following unsubstantiated rumors that the votes were failing. were not counted.
In Detroit, authorities have barred around 30 people, mostly Republicans, from entering a counting facility amid unsubstantiated allegations that Michigan’s vote count was fraudulent.
Anti-Trump protesters in other cities have demanded that the vote count continue. Police arrested 11 people and seized weapons in Portland, Oregon, after reports of riots, while arrests have also taken place in New York, Denver and Minneapolis. More than 100 events are planned across the country between Wednesday and Saturday.
As of early Thursday, Biden had 3.6 million more votes than Trump nationwide, but the margins were razor thin in several states. In Wisconsin, Biden led Trump with about 21,000 votes out of 3.3 million votes. In Georgia, Trump led by 19,000 votes out of nearly 5 million votes.
Biden, 77, predicted victory on Wednesday and launched a website to begin the transition to a Democrat-controlled White House.
Trump, 74, has long sought to undermine the credibility of the voting process if he loses. Since Tuesday’s election day, he has falsely declared victory, accused Democrats of attempting to steal the election without evidence, and vowed to fight states in court.
US election experts say fraud is rare.
Trump’s campaign called for a recount in Wisconsin – to which he would be entitled given the small margin there – as well as lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop the vote count. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in charge of elections, called the Trump team trial “frivolous.”
The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit in Georgia demanding that Chatham County, which includes the city of Savannah, segregate and secure late ballots to ensure they are not counted.
He also asked the United States Supreme Court to allow Trump to join a pending lawsuit filed by Republicans in Pennsylvania over whether the battlefield state should be allowed to accept late ballots. .
The maneuvers represented a vast effort to challenge the results before the count was completed.
“They find Biden votes everywhere – in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Too bad for our country!” Trump posted on Twitter.
Biden said every vote should be counted. “Nobody is going to take our democracy away from us, not now or ever,” he said on Wednesday.
POTENTIAL GRIDLOCK
Should he win, Biden will face an uphill battle to rule, with Republicans appearing ready to retain control of the US Senate, which they could use to block much of his legislative agenda, including the expansion of healthcare. health and the fight against climate change.
U.S. stock index futures surged Thursday as investors bet the potential deadlock in Washington could reduce the risk of major policy changes, although concerns remain about the risk of a contested election.
The controversial election aftermath capped a vitriolic campaign that unfolded amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 233,000 people in the United States and left millions more jobless. The country is also grappling with months of unrest involving protests against racism and police brutality.
The United States on Wednesday set a one-day record for new coronavirus cases with at least 102,591 new infections, according to a Reuters tally.
Supporters for both candidates expressed anger, frustration and fear with little clarity as to when the election would be resolved.
Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 after winning crucial states on the battlefield, even though she garnered around 3 million more votes nationwide.
Republican candidates have won the popular vote only once since the 1980s, although they won three out of seven presidential elections during that period due to the Electoral College system.
