America votes: nail-biting finish to the race

By Shannon Jenkins

November 4, 2020

Adobe

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden remains just six electoral college votes away from victory on Friday morning, and is edging closer to Trump in the key states of Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

But it’s not over for incumbent Donald Trump yet, with a winner too early to call.

See below for the results, as at 10.05am AEDT.

The votes

Popular vote: Biden has surpassed 72,717,000 votes, ahead of Trump’s 69,119,000.

Electoral college vote: Biden leads 264 to 214, meaning he is just six votes away from reaching a 270 majority. There are 538 electoral college votes in total.

Key states

Nevada: 6 electoral college votes. Hillary Clinton won Nevada in 2016. It is proving to be a key state this year, with Biden leading 49.4% to Trump’s 48.5%, and 76% of votes counted. If Biden takes this state, he will have the 270 electoral college votes he needs to win the election. However, Australians won’t receive another update on this state until the early hours of Saturday morning.

Georgia: 16 electoral college votes. While Trump won the state by five points in 2016, this year it is extremely close. Trump leads by just 0.2%, with 99% of votes counted. It is unclear when the final votes will flow in.

North Carolina: 15 electoral college votes. Clinton was projected to win North Carolina in 2016, but Trump took the state by nearly four points. Trump leads 50.1% to Biden’s 48.7%, with 94% of votes counted.

Pennsylvania: 20 electoral college votes. Trump took this state in 2016. He is currently ahead of Biden, 50% to 48.8%, but just 89% of votes have been counted, with more likely to be reported today.

Arizona: 11 electoral college votes. Despite this state having already been called for Biden, only 88% of votes have been counted and Trump has been slowly creeping closer, with 48.2% behind Biden’s 50.5%. Officials are expected to report more results from this state today.

Texas: 38 electoral college votes. A reliably Republican state, Texas has been called for Trump, with 85% of votes counted.

Michigan: 16 electoral college votes. This state has been called for Biden. Trump won the state by just 0.3% in 2016.

Florida: 29 electoral college votes. Trump took Florida in 2016, and has won the state again in 2020.

Ohio: 18 electoral college votes. Trump won the state by eight points in 2016. He takes the state again in 2020.

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