4 years ago
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As Joe Biden amassed small but stable leads in critical states that edged him closer on Wednesday to winning the presidency, President Trump and Republicans threatened legal challenges as they sought to shift the battle for the White House from the ballot box to the courts, The Washington Post reported.

The knife-edge US presidential race tilted toward Democrat Joe Biden early Thursday, with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but President Donald Trump claimed he was being cheated and went to court to try and stop vote counting.

Tallying of votes continued through a second night in the remaining battleground states where huge turnout and a mountain of mail-in ballots sent by voters trying to avoid exposure to the coronavirus made the job all the harder.

Both candidates still had paths to winning the White House by hitting the magic majority threshold of 270 of the electoral votes awarded to whichever candidate wins the popular vote in a given state.

But momentum moved to Joe Biden, who made a televised speech from his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware to say that "when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."

By flipping the northern battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin, and also winning formerly pro-Trump Arizona, Biden reached 264 electoral votes against 214 so far for Trump.

To reach 270 he was hoping next to add the six electoral votes from Nevada, where he had a small and shrinking lead, or, even better, the larger prizes of hard-fought Georgia or Pennsylvania.

More than 100 million Americans cast their ballots in advance of Tuesday's Election Day, according to the US Elections Project watchdog, a record figure largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported news agency AFP.

Here are the Live Updates on US Presidential Election Results 2020:

Nov 06, 2020 07:03 (IST)
Nov 06, 2020 06:57 (IST)
Trump falsely claims election being "stolen"

With his re-election chances fading as more votes are counted in a handful of battleground states, US President Donald Trump launched an extraordinary assault on the country's democratic process from the White House on Thursday, falsely claiming the election was being "stolen" from him.

Offering no evidence, Trump lambasted election workers and alleged fraud in the states where results from a dwindling set of uncounted votes are pushing Democrat Joe Biden nearer to victory.

"This is a case where they're trying to steal an election," Trump said.

Several news networks cut away from the president, who spoke for about 15 minutes in the White House briefing room before leaving without taking questions.
Nov 06, 2020 06:21 (IST)
"No one is going to take our democracy away": Joe Biden
Nov 06, 2020 06:06 (IST)
Trump lawsuits unlikely to impact outcome of US election, experts say

US President Donald Trump called in his lawyers to shore up his dimming re-election prospects, but legal experts said the flurry of lawsuits had little chance of changing the outcome but might cast doubt on the process.

As Trump's paths to victory narrowed, his campaign was ramping up legal challenges and said it was planning to file its latest case in Nevada.

On Wednesday, the campaign sued in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia and asked to join a pending case at the US Supreme Court.

Experts said the litigation serves to drag out the vote count and postpone major media from declaring Biden the victor, which would have dire political implications for Trump.
Nov 06, 2020 05:37 (IST)
Detroit, Philadelphia can't be responsible for deciding outcome: Trump

Donald Trump says: "Detroit and Philadelphia, two of the most politically corrupt place in America, cannot be responsible for deciding the outcome of this race."
Nov 06, 2020 05:31 (IST)
Votes should have been in by Election Day: Trump

"Votes are coming in after Election Day. To the best of my knowledge, votes should be in by Election Day," says Donald Trump.
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Nov 06, 2020 05:26 (IST)
Trump claims would win unless Democrats "steal" election

Trump says he won't allow corruption to "steal" this election. "Can't allow anyone to silence our voters."
Nov 06, 2020 05:25 (IST)
Year of Republican women: Trump

"This was the year of the Republican women, more women elected than ever before in US Congress," says Donald Trump, adding that this election also saw the largest non-white voters.
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Nov 06, 2020 05:23 (IST)
If you count legal votes, I easily win: Donald Trump

Donald Trump says: "I've already decisively won massive states... There was no blue wave, in fact there was a big red wave."
Nov 06, 2020 05:07 (IST)
The people will not be silenced: Joe Biden
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Nov 06, 2020 04:51 (IST)
Trump to deliver statement from White House soon

US President Donald Trump will deliver remarks from the White House, a spokesman said, in what would be the US leader's first televised appearance since election night.

Trump's statement is scheduled for 6:30 pm (5 am IST), and comes as the president and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden await results from the remaining undecided states including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada that will determine the election winner.
Nov 06, 2020 04:38 (IST)
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Nov 06, 2020 04:24 (IST)
Nov 06, 2020 04:05 (IST)
Record spending on 2020 campaigns fueled by polarised anger

America's 2020 campaigns cost some $14 billion, a record sum showing that parties are increasingly willing to spend big on races to express visceral opposition to their rivals -- even when their chances are slim.

The enormous cost of this year's presidential and legislative elections is nearly double the cost of 2016's races, and more than triple those of 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group that tracks money in politics.

The Democrats in particular lost some costly wagers this year.
Nov 06, 2020 03:29 (IST)
US Presidential Election 2020: Joe Biden Says No Doubt We Will Be Declared Winners
US Democrat Joe Biden said Thursday he has "no doubt" he will defeat President Donald Trump and be declared winner of the US election, insisting that voters remain patient and that the result will be known "very soon".
Nov 06, 2020 03:15 (IST)
Judge orders twice daily sweeps for states still receiving ballots

A judge ordered twice daily sweeps at US Postal Service (USPS) facilities serving states with extended ballot receipt deadlines as votes were still being counted in US election battleground states.

Some states, including still undecided Nevada and North Carolina, are counting ballots that are received after Election Day Tuesday. Plaintiffs lawyers in a lawsuit said the Postal Service delivered roughly 150,000 ballots nationwide on Wednesday. Of those, roughly 8,000 or 9,000, were delivered after Tuesday even though they had been mailed by Sunday.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan said the processing centers must perform morning sweeps and then afternoon sweeps "to ensure that any identified local ballots can be delivered that day."
Nov 06, 2020 02:52 (IST)
Nov 06, 2020 02:27 (IST)
Pennsylvania could be decided soon, says official 

Pennsylvania could finalize its election vote count as early as Thursday, a senior official in the pivotal battleground said, with Democrat Joe Biden winning the White House if the state's votes go his way.

Biden leads President Donald Trump in the all-important electoral vote count that determines the winner of the election, and prevailing in Pennsylvania would put the challenger over the magic threshold of 270 electoral votes needed to win -- regardless of the outcome in other states yet to be called.

"I think we definitely could" know a winner in Pennsylvania by Thursday, the state's Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar told CNN.
Nov 06, 2020 02:04 (IST)
Trump vows Nevada lawsuit after losing legal fights in Georgia and Michigan 

US President Donald Trump's campaign lost court rulings in the closely-contested states of Georgia and Michigan on Thursday, even as it vowed to bring a new lawsuit challenging what it called voting irregularities in Nevada.

In the Georgia case, the campaign alleged 53 late-arriving ballots were mixed with on-time ballots. In Michigan, it had sought to stop votes from being counted and obtain greater access to the tabulation process.

State judges tossed out both the suits on Thursday.

Judge James Bass, a superior court judge in Georgia, said there was "no evidence" that the ballots in question were invalid.
Nov 06, 2020 01:33 (IST)
International Observer Mission To US Elections Accuses Donald Trump Of Gross Abuse Of Office
The head of an international observer mission to the US elections accused Donald Trump on Thursday of a "gross abuse of office" after the president alleged he was being cheated and demanded that vote counting be halted.
Nov 06, 2020 01:02 (IST)
Facebook Takes Down Pro-Donald Trump Group For False Election Claims
Facebook on Thursday said it had taken down a rapidly growing group where supporters of US 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.
Nov 06, 2020 00:40 (IST)
Counting of votes in US continues

On the second floor of Atlanta's State Farm Arena in Georgia, county election officials sat at six tables steadily processing a few thousand remaining mail-in ballots on Thursday morning, some pausing only to order coffee.

Some Republican and Democratic ballot-counting watchers took notes as officials sorted each batch of 400 ballots one by one, ensuring signatures matched between envelopes and ballots.

Hoping to avoid Election Day crowds during the coronavirus pandemic, more than 100 million Americans submitted ballots during early voting this year, a record-breaking number.
Nov 06, 2020 00:21 (IST)
Protests in US cities amid counting of votes

A second day of sometimes dueling demonstrations over the integrity of the US presidential election started early on Thursday in Philadelphia and other cities as ballot counting dragged on in a handful of states that will decide the outcome.

Supporters of Joe Biden have rallied around the slogan to "count every vote," believing a complete tally would show the Democratic former vice president had beaten Republican President Donald Trump. Ardent Trump backers have countered with cries to "protect the vote" in support of his campaign's efforts to have some categories of ballots, including some votes submitted by mail, discarded.

Both factions appeared outside a vote-counting center in Philadelphia on Thursday morning, where election staff steadily worked through a mountain of still-uncounted mail-in ballots that will determine whether Biden or Trump will take Pennsylvania's crucial 20 Electoral College votes.
Nov 05, 2020 23:26 (IST)
Shares Jump As 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 US presidency while the Bank of England became the latest central bank to say it will increase stimulus, reported news agency Reuters. Biden appeared set to defeat Donald Trump as counting continued from Tuesday's election.
Nov 05, 2020 23:20 (IST)
Biden On Cusp Of White House Victory, Trump Turns To Courts
Former vice president Joe Biden, making his third run at the White House, was tantalizingly close to victory on Thursday as President Donald Trump sought to stave off defeat with scattershot legal challenges and his campaign insisted he would be reelected, reported news agency AFP. Biden, 77, needs a total of 270 votes to capture the Electoral College that determines the White House winner and the magic figure was in reach with several states expected to announce their results on Thursday. The former senator from Delaware and Democratic hopeful currently has 253 electoral votes -- or 264 if the 11 electoral votes from the southwestern state of Arizona are included. Trump, 74, trails with 214 electoral votes but Jason Miller, his top campaign strategist, said the Republican incumbent will "again win the race."
Nov 05, 2020 23:17 (IST)

Nov 05, 2020 23:15 (IST)
"We Feel Good About Where We Are," Tweets Joe Biden

Nov 05, 2020 22:46 (IST)
Trump Campaign To Allege Voter Fraud In Nevada Lawsuit: Source
President Donald Trump's campaign on Thursday will announce a lawsuit alleging voter fraud in Nevada, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the state continued counting ballots in the 2020 US presidential election, reported news agency Reuters. The Trump campaign planned to allege that thousands of people cast ballots who no longer live in the state, the source told Reuters. The Republican president's campaign has already filed lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop vote counting.

Nov 05, 2020 22:43 (IST)
Trump "Alive And Well" In Race, Campaign Predicts Victory As Early As Friday
President Donald Trump's campaign said on Thursday it expected to launch additional legal action in Pennsylvania and Nevada and predicted that the Republican incumbent would emerge victorious in the polls by as early as Friday evening, reported news agency Reuters. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters on a conference call that Trump was "alive and well" with regard to the presidential race. Campaign adviser Jason Miller said he expected legal action in Pennsylvania to ensure visibility on previous ballots that have been counted in that state.
Nov 05, 2020 22:40 (IST)
US Will Order Twice Daily Sweeps For States Still Receiving Ballots
US District Judge Emmet Sullivan said Thursday he will sign an order requiring twice daily sweeps at US Postal facilities serving states with extended ballot receipt deadline, reported news agency Reuters. 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.
Nov 05, 2020 22:38 (IST)
Biden Campaign Manager Says Arizona Full Results May Take Time, Margin May Tighten
Democrat Joe Biden's campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said on Thursday it may take time to see full voting results in Arizona and that the margin in the state may tighten, reported news agency Reuters.
Nov 05, 2020 22:05 (IST)
Biden Campaign Address

Nov 05, 2020 22:05 (IST)
All Biden-Claimed States Will Be Legally Challenged By Us For Voter Fraud: Donald Trump

Nov 05, 2020 21:24 (IST)
Twitter Flags Trump Tweet For Misleading Info About US Election Vote Count
Twitter flagged a post by Donald Trump on Thursday that said votes received after Election Day in the United States would not be counted, reported news agency Reuters. The company has applied labels to multiple tweets by Trump in recent days, warning users that information is disputed and might be misleading, as he fights Democratic rival Joe Biden to keep his place in the White House. Trump's latest tweet to receive the label on Thursday said: "ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!" It is normal in US elections for states to count votes for days, or even weeks, after voting ends on Election Day.
Nov 05, 2020 20:54 (IST)
"Every Vote Must Be Counted," Tweets Joe Biden

Nov 05, 2020 20:51 (IST)
"Any Vote That Came After Election Day Won't Be Counted," Tweets Donald Trump

Nov 05, 2020 20:07 (IST)
"Stop The Count," Tweets Donald Trump

Nov 05, 2020 19:42 (IST)
Trump Campaign To Make Announcement In Las Vegas
President Donald Trump's campaign planned to make a announcement in Las Vegas on Thursday at 11:30 ET, the campaign said in a statement as ballot counting in the state's presidential election continued, reported news agency Reuters. 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.
Nov 05, 2020 18:53 (IST)
Election Observer Accuses Trump Of "Gross Abuse Of Office"
The head of an international observer mission to the US elections accused Donald Trump on Thursday of a "gross abuse of office" after the president alleged he was being cheated and demanded that vote counting be halted, reported news agency AFP. "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".
Nov 05, 2020 18:29 (IST)
Trump Supporters Protest Outside Arizona Vote Center
A crowd 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, reported news agency Reuters. 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.
Nov 05, 2020 18:17 (IST)
"We Believe We Will Be The Winners": Joe Biden

Nov 05, 2020 17:25 (IST)
Ivanka Trump Congratulates Bill Hagerty On Tennessee Win

Nov 05, 2020 17:21 (IST)
US Presidential Election Results 2020: Joe Biden Faces Prospect of Gridlock Presidency After Party Losses
Joe Biden may have the inside track on Donald Trump to win the White House, but his party's otherwise poor performance on Election Night sets up a gridlock presidency, with faint hopes of achieving liberal policy aspirations.
Nov 05, 2020 15:36 (IST)
Protesters march through interstate 94 during protesting against racism and issues with the presidential election after in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 4, 2020.

Nov 05, 2020 15:15 (IST)
Nov 05, 2020 14:42 (IST)
US Election 2020 results: Election Results Awaited, But Zuckerberg, Bezos Have Already Gained Big
Despite lingering uncertainty over the U.S. election, the country's ultra-rich already have plenty to celebrate. Tech billionaires in Silicon Valley saw a hotly contested ballot question on the employment status of gig workers pass in their favor, while an Illinois measure to swap the state's flat income tax with a graduated system went down in defeat after Citadel's Ken Griffin spent millions to oppose it. Read more

Nov 05, 2020 13:41 (IST)
Nov 05, 2020 13:32 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: Joe Biden Wins Wisconsin, Michigan, Nearing Victory; Team Donald Trump Preps Suits
As Joe Biden amassed small but stable leads in critical states that edged him closer on Wednesday to winning the presidency, President Trump and Republicans threatened legal challenges as they sought to shift the battle for the White House from the ballot box to the courts. Read here


Nov 05, 2020 12:38 (IST)
Nov 05, 2020 12:25 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: US Democrats, Seeking Gains In State Governments, Lose Ground Instead
Democrats entered the 2020 US elections looking to roll back much of the commanding presence Republicans had in state governments, but instead wound up losing ground as votes were counted on Wednesday. Read here

Nov 05, 2020 12:14 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: As Trump Protests, US Cities Fear Unrest That Election Night Spared Them
Predictions of widespread violence fizzled on Election Night, but police and businesses across the U.S. are keeping preparations in place as President Donald Trump falsely claims victory -- a scenario that experts warned held a greater potential for unrest. Read more

Nov 05, 2020 11:56 (IST)
Indian-Origin Millionaire Shri Thanedar, Democrat, Elected To Michigan State Legislature

Shri Thanedar, an Indian-origin millionaire businessman who ran for Governor two years ago, has been elected to the House of Representatives in Michigan with 93 per cent votes.

Mr Thanedar, 65, also a scientist, raised a record-breaking USD 438,620, primarily from his own wealth, in the state House primary against six other opponents of the Democratic Party.

The former gubernatorial hopeful cashed in on his high name familiarity after he moved from Ann Arbor to Detroit after losing the 2018 primary. His campaign two years ago featured a heavy dose of "Shri for We" television ads.

He won from the 3rd District of Michigan with 93 per cent of the total votes.
Nov 05, 2020 11:47 (IST)
Bernie Sanders Predicted Trump's Every Election Move. Video Is Viral Now
Top Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders's words nearly two weeks ago about how the US presidential election would turn out and how Donald Trump would react appear to have turned prophetic with how the nail-biting counting process and drama has unfolded. Read more

Nov 05, 2020 11:34 (IST)
Nov 05, 2020 11:22 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: Joe Biden Predicts A Win, Promises To Unite As Donald Trump Goes To Court

Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday predicted victory over President Donald Trump after winning two critical US states, while the Republican incumbent alleged fraud, filed lawsuits and demanded recounts in a race yet to be decided a day after polls closed.

While stopping short of declaring victory, Joe Biden launched a website for a transition to a Democratic-controlled White House. His team called it buildbackbetter.com and declared "the Biden-Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One."

As Donald Trump spent part of the day airing grievances over Twitter, Biden pledged to govern as a unifier if triumphant.

"What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart," Biden, appearing with his running mate Kamala Harris, said in his home state of Delaware on Wednesday.

At the moment, not including Wisconsin, where the Republican Trump has demanded a recount, Edison Research gives Biden a 243 to 213 lead over Trump in Electoral College votes, which are largely based on a state's population.

Nov 05, 2020 10:42 (IST)
Nov 05, 2020 10:40 (IST)
Social Networks Fail To Corral Trump's Misinformation About US Vote Count

As US President Donald Trump and his allies flooded social media on Wednesday with false claims of victory and unsupported allegations of voter fraud, social media companies warned users the presidential election had yet to be decided.

The posts on Twitter, Facebook and other sites are imposing a real-time test of Silicon Valley's much-touted rules on handling election misinformation and premature claims of victory.

But it is not clear whether the disclaimers and fact-checks, which often occur well after posts have been shared tens of thousands of times, are curbing the circulation of baseless claims. And in the case of Facebook, staff rewrote some of their rules on the fly.

Critics say that, in environments explicitly built to promote instant sharing and viral posts, bland disclaimers do not cut it.

"We're on the brink here," said Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press. She said Facebook should take down disinformation rather than just flag it.

"We're testing our democracy experiment, and Facebook hasn't gotten it right up to now," Gonzalez said.

Nov 05, 2020 10:22 (IST)
Oregon Police Face Off With Anti-Trump Protesters

Hundreds of state police and left-wing protesters were locked in a tense standoff in downtown Portland late Wednesday after rampaging anti-Trump groups smashed shop windows a day after the election, prompting the state governor to activate the National Guard.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's office declared a riot and made at least nine arrests, citing "widespread violence" in the city's downtown area and repeatedly warning it could deploy munitions and tear gas.

Armed police advanced on demonstrators in unison but there were no clashes, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

The protesters had earlier attended a peaceful rally in a downtown park hosted by a coalition of far-left, anti-capitalist groups featuring lectures and music.

"The mass gathering in downtown Portland is still declared a riot. Leave the area now," the sheriff's office posted on Twitter just before 8:30 pm ( 0430 GMT). It earlier said officers were being targeted with projectiles, such as glass bottles.
Nov 05, 2020 10:09 (IST)
US Election Results 2020: Which US States Are Still Counting Votes And When Will They Be Done?
The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as nine states continued to count ballots, including some of the most competitive battleground states where the tally could take days to complete. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over Republican President Donald Trump with 227 to 213 electoral votes. Read more

Nov 05, 2020 09:51 (IST)
US Election Uncertainty Turns Focus On Fed

With America's knife-edge election yet to be called, and the Covid-19 pandemic surging across the nation, analysts will be watching the Federal Reserve on Thursday for signs of whether it may step in again to help the US economy survive the coronavirus downturn.

No victor has emerged yet following Tuesday's vote that pitted President Donald Trump against his challenger Joe Biden, which analysts hoped would also break the months-long deadlock in Washington over passing more stimulus to help the US economy recover from the pandemic.

The Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is unlikely to offer much in the way of specifics in its statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, besides repeating its commitment to keep the benchmark borrowing rate at zero for the foreseeable future.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell could take the opportunity at his press conference following the meeting to signal a willingness to find new tools to help the economy, after the bank earlier this year pumped trillions of dollars of liquidity into the financial system and cut the lending rate.
Nov 05, 2020 09:40 (IST)
US Elections: Indian American Maintains Narrow Lead In Arizona Congressional Race

Indian American emergency room physician Dr Hiral Tipirneni has maintained a narrow lead over her Republican incumbent in an Arizona Congressional race, which as of Wednesday night was too close to call.

If elected, Mumbai-born Tipirneni would be the second Indian American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. Pramila Jayapal, the first, was re-elected for her third consecutive term on Tuesday.

Dr Tipirneni would also be the second Indian American doctor after Dr Ami Bera to be elected to the House. Dr Bera has been re-elected for the fifth consecutive term from California.

By Wednesday evening, Dr Tipirneni, 52, had a lead of less than 2,000 votes against Republican incumbent David Schweikert, who is facing an ethics investigation in the House.

If elected, the Indian American will become the second Democrat ever to represent the sixth Congressional District of Arizona.
Nov 05, 2020 09:35 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: Thousands Protest In New York, Detroit Ahead Of US Election Results
Thousands of Joe Biden supporters marched Wednesday evening in New York to demand every vote in the tight presidential election be counted, as some Donald Trump supporters protested in Detroit demanding a halt to ballot counting in the key state of Michigan. Read more

Nov 05, 2020 09:29 (IST)
South Korea Says Will Maintain Solid Alliance With US Regardless Of Election Results: Report

South Korea's presidential Blue House said it would maintain a "solid" alliance with the United States regardless of the presidential election results, according to media reports on Thursday.

Nov 05, 2020 09:17 (IST)
US Elections: Residents of Thulasendrapuram, the native village of US Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Tiruvarur district, make rangoli to show their support for her. 

"We believe that after winning US Elections 2020, she'll come and meet us," says a local.

Nov 05, 2020 09:08 (IST)
Which US States Are Still Counting Votes And When Will They Be Done?

The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as several states continued to count their ballots, including some of the most competitive battlegrounds where the tally could take days to complete.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over Republican President Donald Trump with 227 to 213 electoral votes. That leaves 98 electoral votes to be allocated, and possible paths to victory for both candidates. The winner needs to secure 270 votes.

Here is the state of play in nine states. The vote counts are supplied by Edison Research.

Alaska

Trump has a wide lead and is broadly expected to carry the state. Still, just 56% of the expected vote has been counted, with Trump ahead by 62.9% to 33%.

Arizona

Biden has a significant lead, and the Associated Press and Fox News have already called the state for the Democrat. With 86% of the expected vote counted, Biden leads with 50.7% against 47.9% for Trump, according to Edison Research.

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told ABC News that Maricopa County, which includes heavily populated Phoenix, had about 400,000 outstanding ballots to be counted and would release more results later on Wednesday.

Georgia

Trump is holding onto a narrow lead, but several of the large counties around Atlanta that lean Democratic have substantial numbers of ballots still to count. With 95% of the expected vote counted, Trump is ahead with 49.7% versus 49% for Biden.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he hoped to have a result by the end of Wednesday.

Under Georgia law, if the margin between the candidates is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage point, a candidate may request a recount within two business days following the certification of results.

Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit to require that Chatham County, which includes Savannah, separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted. The campaign said it had received information that late-arriving ballots in the county were improperly mingled with valid ballots.

Maine

Maine is one of two states that divide their Electoral College votes between the winner of the statewide popular vote and the winner in each of its congressional districts.

Edison Research has allocated Biden two votes for the statewide outcome, which he leads by 53.8% to 43.2% with 87% of the state's expected votes counted. It also called the state's 1st Congressional District for Biden, giving him a third electoral vote from the state.

Trump has a lead of 51.4% to 45.1% in the state's 2nd Congressional District. The Associated Press projected Trump the winner of the state's fourth vote on Wednesday, with only 53.7% of the expected vote in.

Michigan

Biden has a growing margin, with CNN and NBC projecting Biden the winner there just before 4.30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Wednesday. Biden leads Trump by 50.3% to 48.1% with 99% of the state's expected votes counted.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on Wednesday night that all valid ballots in the state had been counted, and that a lawsuit by Trump seeking to halt counting of votes there was "frivolous."

Nevada

Long seen as a solid Biden-leaning state, Nevada now appears in play. Edison Research data shows 86% of the expected vote is in and Biden's lead is just 49.3% to 48.7% for Trump.

State officials expect the remaining votes - largely mail-in ballots - to be counted by 9 a.m. PST (1700 GMT) on Thursday. Clark County, the state's largest and home to Las Vegas, has tallied 84% of expected votes so far and Biden is ahead there 52.9% versus 45.4% for Trump.

North Carolina

The margin between Trump and Biden is less than 2 percentage points as the president clings to a lead of 50.1% to 48.7% for the Democrat, with 95% of the expected vote counted.

The state allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday to be counted if they are received by Nov. 12. On Wednesday morning, the Biden campaign said it expected a final result to take several days, and state officials said later on Wednesday that a full result would not be known until next week.

Pennsylvania

Of the battleground states, Pennsylvania has the furthest to go in counting votes, and Trump so far maintains a lead. With 88% of the expected vote counted, Trump is up 50.8% to 47.9% for Biden.

Officials there can accept mailed-in ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Tuesday. About 1 million votes remain to be counted, Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said on Wednesday.

If the margin of victory is within half of 1%, state law requires a recount.

The Trump campaign said on Wednesday it was suing to temporarily halt vote counting in Pennsylvania and also asked to intervene in a U.S. Supreme Court case over mail-in ballots in the state, which could determine the winner of the election.

Wisconsin

The Trump campaign said on Wednesday it would request a recount of votes in Wisconsin, where the margin between the candidates is less than 1 percentage point.

Biden is up 49.4% to 48.8% for Trump with 99% of the expected vote tallied, according to Edison Research. Edison said that it would not call a race in Wisconsin or any state where the margin is narrow enough to allow a candidate to demand a recount under state law. Some media outlets, including NBC and the Associated Press, projected Biden the winner.
Nov 05, 2020 09:03 (IST)
Joe Biden Vows To Rejoin Paris Climate Deal On First Day In Office

Joe Biden vowed Wednesday that the US would rejoin the Paris climate accord on his first day in the White House, hours after the withdrawal ordered by Donald Trump took effect.

"Today, the Trump Administration officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. And in exactly 77 days, a Biden Administration will rejoin it," Biden tweeted as returns from Tuesday's election showed him in a strong position to defeat Trump.

Nov 05, 2020 09:02 (IST)
US Election 2020 Results: Kamala Harris's Grandfather's Village In Tamil Nadu Roots For Her Victory
Amid the delay and drama over the counting of votes in US presidential elections, thousands of miles away in India, villagers at the ancestoral village of Vice-Presidential nominee Kamala Harris are waiting with bated breadth to see the outcome of the elections. Read more 
Nov 05, 2020 09:01 (IST)
Joe Biden Takes Big Stride To Winning Presidency, Donald Trump Claims Fraud
Democrat Joe Biden took a huge step Wednesday to capturing the White House, with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin bringing him close to a majority, but President Donald Trump responded with fury as his campaign sued to suspend vote counting.

In a brief address on national television, flanked by American flags and his vice presidential pick Kamala Harris, Biden said he wasn't yet declaring victory, but that "when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."

By flipping the northern battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden reached 264 electoral votes against 214 so far for Trump. By adding the six of Nevada, where he is narrowly ahead, or the larger prizes of hard-fought Georgia or Pennsylvania, Biden would hit the magic number of 270 needed to win the White House.

In stark contrast to Trump's increasingly heated rhetoric about being cheated, Biden sought to project calm, reaching out to a nation torn by four years of polarizing leadership and traumatized by the Covid-19 pandemic, with new daily infections Wednesday close to hitting 100,000 for the first time.

"I know how deep and hard the opposing views are in our country on so many things," Biden, 77, said.

"But I also know this as well: to make progress we have to stop treating our opponents as enemies. We are not enemies. What brings us together as Americans is so much stronger than anything that can tear us apart."
Nov 05, 2020 09:00 (IST)
Donald Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit Over Georgia County Ballot Sorting
US President Donald Trump's reelection campaign on Wednesday said it had filed a lawsuit in Georgia to require that Chatham County separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted.

The lawsuit, brought against the Chatham County Board of Elections, asked a judge to order the county to secure and account for ballots received after 7 p.m. on Election Day, according to a court document released by the campaign.

The campaign said it filed the suit after receiving information that late-arriving ballots in the county, which includes Savannah, were improperly mingled with valid ballots.

"President Trump and his team are fighting for the good of the nation to uphold the rule of law, and Georgia's law is very clear: to legally count, mail ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day," deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said in a statement.