US Election Day 2020: Trump and Biden results | 3 November

Arizona vote count continues, more to come Thursday night 

In the latest results, Trump hit the percentage he needed to stay on track to potentially win Arizona, but it may not hold. The next Maricopa County release is not expected until Thursday night. 

Exit poll shows most black men supported Biden

Even though on the whole Democrats have been losing black male votes for over 10 years.

US ELECTIONS

USA Elections 2020 results in Arizona: who has won the popular and college vote?

Who won popular vote and Electoral College votes in Arizona?

It's still hotly contested and is even sparking demonstrations in Maricopa County, but many outlets have called Arizona already. Who did its 11 votes go to?

Trump fans harass election offices in Michigan, Arizona

Dozens of angry supporters of President Donald Trump descended on vote-counting centres 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.

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.

Wearing Trump gear, the Phoenix protesters filled much of the parking lot at the Maricopa County election center, and members of the crowd chanted, “Fox News sucks!” in anger over the network declaring Joe Biden the winner in Arizona yesterday.

Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican and staunch Trump supporter, joined the crowd, declaring: “We’re not going to let this election be stolen. Period.”

“Everyone should want all the votes to be counted, whether they were mailed or cast in person,” said the statement signed by Clint Hickman, the GOP chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Democratic Supervisor Steve Gallardo. “An accurate vote takes time. ... This is evidence of democracy, not fraud.”

Meanwhile, from New York City to Seattle, thousands of demonstrators turned out to demand that every vote be tallied. And in Portland, Oregon where civil unrest has ruled for months now, protests focused not only on vote counting, but police brutality too.

Absurd conspiracy that Sharpies ruin Arizona ballots misses the mark

As states across the U.S. release vote totals for the presidential election, some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated in Arizona. The supposed culprit: Sharpie markers.

In what’s come to be known as #Sharpiegate, social media posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided voters with Sharpie pens, which interfered with ballots being recorded, specifically those for President Donald Trump.

Arizona election officials say that voting with a Sharpie would have no impact on the votes being recorded by tabulation machines, and if there was an issue, there is a process that would keep the ballots from being canceled out.

Via AP

AOC promises fans another Twitch

Freshly re-elected in New York Congress but in need of a nap, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez promises fan she'll do another Twitch live stream.

Trump's "spiritual leader" Paula White prays for result

Really. That the "enemies to God are quieted and their plans are overturned."

Paula White-Cain is a preacher and televangelist.

France says it has faith in US institutions validating vote results

France's foreign minister said on Thursday he had faith good sense would prevail in the US election and that its strong democratic values would ensure the correct results.

"I have faith in U.S. institutions validating the results of the election," Jean-Yves Le Drian told Europe 1 radio.

Biden vows US return to Paris Climate agreement

The deal originally signed in 2016 is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

Police arrest 10 in Portland, 50 in New York on night after US vote

Police in the city of Portland made arrests and seized fireworks, hammers and a rifle after late night demonstrations, as Oregon Governor Kate Brown activated the state's National Guard in response to "widespread violence" on the night after voting in the U.S. presidential election.

Portland Police said it arrested ten people in the demonstrations after declaring riots in the city's downtown area while the New York Police Department (NYPD) said it made about 50 arrests in protests that spread in the city late on Wednesday.

"All of the gatherings that were declared riots were downtown. We have made 10 arrests", a Portland Police spokesman told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Demonstrations were also seen in a few other US cities on Wednesday night as activists demanding that vote counts proceed unimpeded rallied in several cities, including Atlanta, Detroit, New York, and Oakland.

Biden clawing back ground in Georgia

The latest news repoorts suggest that just over 25,000 votes separate Trump and Biden in Georgia as counting continues.

Dollar dips as Biden gains upper hand in tense US election

The dollar slipped to its weakest level in more than two years against the yuan and eased against other Asian currencies as Democrat Joe Biden edged closer to the White House in a nail-biting U.S. presidential election.

Financial markets, however, were braced for days or even weeks of uncertainty as Republican incumbent President Donald Trump has opened a multi-pronged attack on vote counts in several states by pursuing lawsuits and a recount.

That could hamper the dollar in the short run, traders say.

Democrats may be able to flip Georgia

The latest batch of vote count figures suggest that the margin is narrowing even further in Georgia with Joe Biden just 31,000 adrift of President Trump. The southern state was seen as a safe Republican spot before Election Day but it could be the final nail in Trump's coffin if the Peach State slips through his grasp. 

The most recent information suggests that a final count could be completed by 3:00AM ET. Thursday morning. After the delay caused by a burst pipe in the Atlanta voting center, local authorities have said that they will be returning their vote tonight. 

'Count Every Vote' protesters march in New York City

Team Trump calls on supporters to "FIGHT BACK"

In a bizarre and slightly sinister call to arms an email circular from the President's re-election team asked his supporters to "FIGHT BACK" against "the Left-wing MOB". 

Of course it is not the first time that Trump has resorted to this kind of language but its use in emails sent directly to his base seems particularly disturbing. He continues with the rhetoric of his Election Night 'victory' speech in which he claimed that his rightful win was being denied due to fraud. 

'Count Every Vote' protests sparked across America

As the President continues to file lawsuits (in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, so far) calling on electoral authorities to stop counting some votes, demonstrations have begun in some major US cities in opposition.

The movement uses the tagline 'Count Every Vote', echoing a tweet by Joe Biden early today which said exactly that. 

Georgia tightens in Biden's favour with result expected tonight

Biden is still in with a shout in Georgia but it appears that Trump will be able to hold off the challenge in this traditionally Republican state. The unique demographics have led to a rollercoaster vote count here, with Trump picking up plenty of rural vote while Biden does better with the urban voters. 

Crucially, most of the remaining uncounted votes come from Atlanta, Georgia where a burst pipe disrupted vote counting yesterday. The state's biggest city will almost certainly favourite the Democrats so a surprise victory is not impossible. 

After the flooding yesterday evening, local election officials appear determined to return a count tonight, saying they will be there: “as long as it takes.”

Biden looks in good shape to pick up Pennsylvania

As has been the case in other states who do not count their postal votes until Election Day, the Democrats are staging a late surge as mail-in ballots are tallied up. Republican voters usually favour in-person voting so they tend to start off strongly. 

In Pennsylvania it's going to be close, but with Biden picking up votes at a much higher rate than Trump, the former VP is believed to be the favourite. 

Vote count continues in Arizona

The second day of presidential election 2020 may be drawing to a close but vote counters are powering through in Phoenix, Arizona with a margin believed to be narrowing. THe race was called for Biden but the Trump campaign has rejected the call. 

Could Arizona call flip to Republican?

Arizona was a notable early win for the Democrats when it was called yesterday but as the count continues Team Trump are feeling optimistic about their prospects.

Around an hour ago projections saw Donald Trump picking up around 45% of the votes still to be counted; an hour later it seems he picked up 57% of the votes. This would be a pretty sensational turnaround if the President can stage a shock comeback here and would greatly strengthen his chances of re-election. For Biden, it would not be a knock-out blow but it would complicate his path to the White House. 

Vote count ends in Nevada for today

Not wanting to be rushed, Nevada has brought vote counting to a close for the second day of the 2020 presidential election without confirming a winner. Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016 so Biden is expected to hold the six Electoral College votes. 

The state has promised an update on the count at 9am Thursday morning, with it still pretty close at this stage. Joe Biden (49.3%) leads Donald Trump (48.7%) but only around 75% of the vote has been counted so far. 

Keeping you informed this election...

Taking a quick break while we wait for the final outstanding states to dot the 'i's and dot the 't's, here's everything you need to know about the legality of kangaroo ownership in the United States

UPDATE: Arizona vote count latest

The latest vote count from Arizona suggests that Joe Biden is headed for victory, as was called by Fox News and AP yesterday. The Democratic candidate has a lead of around 80,000 votes with 86% counted. 

President Trump echoes calls for Pennsylvania Attorney General to resign

Votes are still being counted in the hotly-contested state of Pennsylvania but Donald Trump has already made his thoughts about Attorney General Josh Shapiro known. The President gave a speech from the White House early on Wednesday morning claiming PA, along with a whole host of swing states, in his favour. 

As the count is gradually done it seems like the state may be leaning more towards Biden. In response Trump shared an article by right-wing publication Breitbart, which called for Shapiro to "step aside". The article takes issues with his prediction that Trump would lose the Keystone State if “all the votes are added up", accusing him of bias. 

Arizona Secretary of State: Trump has no "legal pathway"

The Secretary of State for Arizona, Katie Hobbs, told CNN that the President does not have a "legal pathway" if he decides to launch an appeal in the courts regarding the state's electoral practices. The Trump campaign has already filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan as the incumbent battles to retain the Rust Belt states. 

Arizona was called for Joe Biden on Tuesday evening by Fox News with Associated Press soon following their lead. However a final vote count has not yet been returned, with Hobbs saying: “We’ve said from day one that this is going to take time. We want to do it right. We want to make sure that every vote is counted."

NYT reveals Trump's fury over Arizona call

The first big surprise of the 2020 presidential election came on Tuesday evening when Arizona was called for the Democrats. The news came first from Donald Trump's favourite news source, Fox News, leaving the President furious according to reports. 

It is thought that Trump was also intending on contesting the result of the election and claiming victory, but the flipping of a Republican state that early made it tricky to spin the night as a successful one. 

The New York Times says: "Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, was also in touch with Rupert Murdoch, the Fox News owner, as the night wore on. And on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, insisted the president would win Arizona by 30,000 votes."

2020 US ELECTION

US election 2020 results vs 2016 electoral college votes: how has it changed?

How have the Electoral College votes changed from 2016 to 2020?

Although he lost the popular vote, Donald Trump won the presidency four years ago by picking up more of the all-important Electoral College votes than his rival Hillary Clinton. How has his vote count changed this time around and how is Biden doing?

Trump campaign files Georgia lawsuit

The most recent of the post-election Trump lawsuits comes in Georgia where recent counts suggest that Biden is closing the President's lead. He has now began legal procedings in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. 

The Georgia case filed by Team Trump says: "A significant degree of confusion may still exist regarding whether votes received after 7:00pm can be counted counted in Georgia - they cannot". 

Biden launches transition website

Joe Biden in a move to show he believes he's on course for victory has launched a transition website, buildbackbetter There's nothing in it beyond this text yet, but he's clearly already thinking about the next moves. 

If you want an incredible, and very scary, view of the way Donald Trump approached the transition from the Obama administration I'd thoroughly recommend reading The Fifth Risk, by Moneyball and the Big Short author Michael Lewis. 

Tidbits from the earlier in the election

It feels like this time yesterday was a lifetime ago. Here's a round-up of some of the key moments we've lived through in this presidential election: 

- Around 100 million Americans voted early, either by mail-in ballot or in-person, a stunning number, caused mostly by the coronavirus pandemic. In some states, such as Texas, Montana and Hawaii, the early vote was greater than the entire 2016 turnout.

- The election saw the highest turnout ever, some 161 million votes (according to Bloomberg). Biden also beat Barack Obama's 2008 popular vote record with over 70 million votes. 

- Biden's hopes of flipping Florida and, even less likely Texas, were soon dashed on Tuesday evening, as he failed to get out the vote, particularly the Latino vote in Florida, in his favour and made no inroads in rural communities. 

- Georgia's vote count was delayed by a burst pipe in a polling centre.

- It became clear fairly early on the Democrats' dreams of taking the Senate were almost certain to be dashed. Senate majority leader Mitch MCConnell was re-elected and looks likely to retain power in the chamber. 

- As the race was looking extremely tight late last night, Biden gave a confident speech to his supporters in Delaware, Trump responded by falsely claiming he had won the election and that a fraud was being perpetrated on the American people.

US ELECTION 2020

US presidential election 2020 results map: who is winning each state?

Here's the current map

Remember Nebraska and Maine split their electoral college vote, hence the striped lines. 

Check out all the details here:

How does Biden land the presidency from here?

Joe Biden currently stands on 264 electoral college votes, per Associated Press, meaning he needs just six votes to win the race to the White House, and he could get them by landing Nevada and its six votes. That would mean he wouldn't need Pennsylvania, previously thought to be vital his chances. Biden is ahead by some 8,000 votes in Nevada, with another 14% of votes to be counted, but they are expected to lean in his favour. 

Right now, Trump appears to be accepting he's not going to have the votes to win the election, hence his decision to lawyer up and seek legal strategies to discredit the election, including stopping counting and demanding recounts. The hope is that civil unrest is not his ultimate aim by convincing his supporters they had the election stolen from them.

Late on election night Trump claimed that he had won the election and that he was going to take a case to the Supreme Court. This is just Trump's usual bluster. There's no legal way to "take a case to the Supreme Court" as he says. Any lawsuit would need to be filed at the appropriate state level and then potentially be appealed up to the Supreme Court, which would still always have the option of hearing or rejecting it. Four Justices have to decide to hear a case for it go before the court. 

So far Trump's threats of legal action appear to have produced nothing other than anger among both his supporters and detractors, with protests on the streets of Philadelphia over Pennsylvania vote, with hundreds of people out in protest against the President's claims he will attempt to halt vote-counting in key states.
 

French bulldog wins Kentucky mayoral election

Wilbur Beast received 13,143 votes, the highest winning total in the history of mayoral elections in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. After the rsults was confirmed, the campaign said:

"Thank you for the vote of confidence from local supporters and people from all over the world! It’s an exciting adventure and a deeply meaningful cause to preserve the river Hamlet town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky,"

Economist data journalist gives Trump little hope in key remaining states

Votes are still being counted in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania but the figures published so far suggest that the postal vote swing in Biden's favour should see him clinch the presidency fairly comfortably. 

The vote count in Nevada could be the first to be confirmed but there is still no official time for any of these races. 

US ELECTIONS 2020

US Elections results | Who is winning the popular vote: Biden or Trump?

Who is winning the popular vote: Biden or Trump?

The vast majority of the votes for the 2020 presidential election have been counted and reported, but which of Donald Trump and Joe Biden has collected more individual ballots from the American people.

How has Arizona been called for Biden?

President Trump's camapign team are convinced that they are still in the race in Arizona, fuelled by the news earlier today that around 80%, rather that 95%, of the votes had been counted. 

Arizona is still counting votes but Associated Press have release a statement explaining their decision to pre-emptively call the state for the Democrats. 

They say: "With 80% of the expected vote counted, Biden was ahead by 5 percentage points, with a roughly 130,000-vote lead over Trump with about 2.6 million ballots counted. The remaining ballots left to be counted, including mail-in votes in Maricopa County, where Biden performed strongly, were not enough for Trump to catch up to the former vice president."

Vote count delay in Nevada leaves electorate... frustrated?

We're all eager to see how the final count from the crucial state of Nevada will look but one electoral enthusiast was particularly keen. 

He stormed into a outdoor press conference to accuse the media of a cover up and demand "our freedom for the world", before wandering off. 

His vest read 'BBQ, BEER, FREEDOM' and, judging by his bizarre 'free speech' outburst, he's had plenty. 

Vote count delay in Nevada leaves electorate... frustrated?

We're all eager to see how the final count from the crucial state of Nevada will look but one electoral enthusiast was particularly keen. 

He stormed into a outdoor press conference to accuse the media of a cover up and demand "our freedom for the world", before wandering off. 

His vest read 'BBQ, BEER, FREEDOM' and, judging by his bizarre 'free speech' outburst, he's had plenty. 

2020 US ELECTIONS

USA Elections 2020 results in Nevada: who has won the popular and college vote?

USA Elections 2020 results in Nevada: who has won the popular and Electoral College vote?

We're still not sure when Nevada will be called but here's what we do know as the state's vote count passes 75%...

Nevada 2016 result suggests a Biden win

Bordering on the Democrat stronghold of California, Nevada has voted for a blue candidate in five of the last seven elections. The most recent Democrat to get that support was Hillary Clinton who won by a margin of roughly 2.5 percentage points in 2016. 

Biden has already outperformed Clinton in a number of key areas so his chances of picking up Nevada and its six Electoral College votes look good. 

Trump - Trump 2024?

While it seems that Donald is in no mood to give up his presidency lightly, while we wait for news on the Nevada count some have began to speculate about the next generation of Trump presidential candidates. 

The President reportedly wanted daughter Ivanka to be his running mate in 2016 but the 2024 Trump ticket may be a campaign too far for the 45th. 

When will Nevada be called?

If Arizona goes as Fox News have called and Trump's Pennsylvania and Michigan lawsuit is unsuccessful, Nevada could be about to decide the winner of the 2020 presidential election. 

Not that they seem to be in any particular hurry...

Detroit mob surrounds counting center

More footage has emerged of protesters in Detroit attempting to disrupt the process of the presidential election. The 'anti-counting' protesters appear to be responding to President Trump's claims that there will be mail-in vote fraud, specifically in areas that appear likely to return a vote for the Democrats. 

Trump appeal set for Supreme Court hearing?

After claiming victory during the early hours of Wednesday morning the President announced that he will be going to the US Supreme Court to demand all vote counting is stopped. 

In the recent past Trump has hinted that his rushed nomination and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett so she could rule in his favour on any post-election disputes. With Trump reportedly ready to sue to retain the presidency, the Supreme Court could be the final destination of the 2020 presidential election. 

Trump lawyers call for "meaningful access"

Some more details about the President's legal challenge as he takes to Twitter to say: "The damage has already been done to the integrity of our system".

His team have confirmed that they are filing lawsuits to contest the method of vote-counting. Previous posts making these baseless claims have been flagged with a warning about misleading election information. We'll see how long this one lasts

LIVE: Protesters take to the street in Philadelphia over Pennsylvania vote 

Helicopter footage from Philadelphia shows hundreds of people out in protest against the President's attempts to halt vote-counting in key states. Donald Trump has made clear on Twitter that he does not intend to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election and has instructed his team to file a lawsuit contesting the count. 

At time of writing, the count is still too close to call in Pennsylvania and could secure the presidency for Joe Biden. 

Joe Biden beats running mate Barack Obama's popular vote record

The previous best came in Obama's first election win in 2008. However the American population has grown from 304 million to 330 million in that time. As a percentage of the country's registered voters, Obama got 48% while Biden looks on course to receive around 45% this time.

Rihanna dismisses Trump lawsuit

The President wants the vote-counting halted in a number of key states but RiRi thinks otherwise. 

Electoral College Map: UPDATE

Confirmation of Biden's win in Michigan gives him a fourth victory in the vital northern Rust Belt states. Trump's Michigan lawsuit notwithstanding, it's looking promising for the former VP with just one more states potentially enough now. 

AP calls Michigan for Joe Biden

Confirmation of a second big flip for the Democrats as Michigan and it's 16 Electoral College votes turns blue.

This is a big win for Biden who is creeping towards the magic 270 required for the White House, but this will not be the last we hear of the Great Lake State this election. Trump's legal team have launched a lawsuit in Michigan to contest the way postal votes were counted. 

Trump campaign releases statement on Michigan lawsuit

The President's legal team will be suing in Michigan after the state was projected to flip to the Democrats. After initially looking good for Trump the counting of postal votes appears to have swung it back in Biden's favour. The President's lawsuit demands the opportunity to review and verify the ballots. 

Team Trump lawyer Guiliani says they may sue in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan

Donald Trump's campaign look set to launch a legal challenge in a number of close states due to claims of vote fraud. Rudy Guiliani, Trump personal attorney, told a crowd in Pennsylvania that they will be suing to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. 

Exact details of the lawsuit are not known, but Trump took to Twitter to claim a victory in Michigan shortly after it was projected in Biden's favour. 

Nearly 24 hours after the first polls closed, some are growing tired of Trump's antics

Poll challengers swarm counting facility in Detroit

Well here we go, many had predicted some form of unrest would arise from the highly partisan 2020 presidential election and we're getting a first taste. Donald Trump has repeatedly called for states to stop counting votes cast legally, baselessly accusing the Democrats of vote fraud. 

A crowd of his supporters surrounded the doors at a Detroit counting facility, demanding that they "Stop the count". 

2020 US ELECTIONS

Trump is going to Court: can the Supreme Court decide an election and pick the president?

Trump is taking the election to court

In his post-election remarks in the wee-hours of Wednesday morning Trump inferred that the Democrat party was trying to “disenfranchise” a group of American voters.

Trump has been making threats about the validity of ballots cast through expanded mail-in voting throughout the US and, with the presidency appearing to slip from his grasp, he is looking for recourse in the courts. 

Update on the state of play in Pennsylvania

A big part of the reason for Joe Biden's nomination was the hope that he would perform well in the Rust Belt states, but it appears that the race will go down to the wire in his birthplace of Pennsylvania. Donald Trump has a considerable lead as it stands but the outstanding postal votes should favour the Democratic candidate.

Biden calls for "progress"

The former VP did not claim victory in his address this afternoon but it is clear that he is confident about the election outcome. During campaigning he promised to work to bring the country together if elected, and it appears he is already attempting to make a start. 

Nevada could return result today

Earlier today Nevada had announced that they would not be able to provide a final result until Thursday but they may now be able to provide an update later this afternoon. 

Hillary Clinton won the state's six Electoral College votes in 2016 and with Biden generally improving on her performance nationally, he will expect to retain the state. Recent projections have put Michigan in the Democrats' column and confirmation of a win in Arizona would bring Biden's tally to 264. 

With that in mind, and assuming nothing changes after the incumbent's impending appeal, Nevada's six votes could secure the White House for Biden. We'll keep you updated as the picture becomes clearer. 

President Trump shares fake viral story about Michigan votes

Earlier today a viral tweet was doing the rounds, suggesting that a new batch of data from Michigan vote counters had awarded over 100,000 votes to Joe Biden without a single one going to Donald Trump. The tweet found it's way to the President who shared it twice, commenting: "WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?"

After further investigation it has been established that the error was the result of a typo that falsely updated an online vote map but could not have altered the actual vote count for either candidate. 

Despite being quickly disproved, the President had spread the 'news' to his supporters as he looks to strengthen his case to appeal the result of the election. A number of established broadcasters have recently called Michigan in Biden's favour; Trump responded by publically claiming the victory.

Despite being clearly untrue, this conspiracy theory has already gained traction with elements of his online support. 

New York Times calls Michigan for Biden

They're flooding in now, this time it's the New York Times who place Michigan in the blue column as Biden looks to be well on his way to 270 Electoral College votes. 

Contrary to CNN and Fox News projections, Trump claims Michigan

In the last half an hour first CNN and now Fox News have announced that their data suggests that Michigan will turn blue and return 16 Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. However the President took to Twitter just moments ago to claim "for Electoral Vote purposes" that he has won Michigan. 

It's all getting messy, but it is clear that Trump wants to get his defence in first before a solid call is made in the Democrat's favour. No evidence is given for this claim, we'll see what follows

Sky News News Political Editor gives Electoral College update

Beth Rigby of Sky News gives this quick breakdown of the state of play on the second night of vote-counting. There's a couple of IFs, and the assumption that Michigan will turn blue, but it does look like Biden now has multiple routes to the presidency. 

More of Trump team's tweets get warnings from Twitter

Not only Twitter slapped a warning of false claims as Eric Trump made a completely unfounded declaration of victory in Pennsylvania, newly re-elected Congresswoman Ilhan Omar chimes in with a simple take down, too.

Trump screams down the phone at Rupert Murdoch

It was clear that the Pesident was not too happy with Fox News' decision to pre-emptively call Arizona in Joe Biden's favour last night but details are just emerging of just how unhappy he was. 

Trump is known to have been an avid watcher of Fox News during his time in office but his favourite channel turned against him last night, chalking up a vital win for Biden and facing some choice words from the President. 

Trump makes a claim for one of the remaining swing states

The huge numbers of postal votes in Pennsylvania look like making it one of the last states to return a result, but the President has already nailed his colours to the mast on this one. Defeating Joe Biden in his home town would be of huge significance for Trump but latest counting data suggests that the vote has begun to lean towards the Democrat. 

Power can't be taken or asserted, it flows from the people, and it's their will that determines who will be the President of the United States.

Final states yet to be called

Things are really heating up now, nearly 24 hours after the first polls closed in the US presidential election we are still waiting on a handful of states to decide the race. Michigan is projected to go Democrat but Trump still has a route to victory if he can secure the remaining swing states. 

Among them Pennsylvania and Georgia, which Trump falsely claimed to be leading comfortably in his White House speech last night. As the counting continues in these states we will get a better idea of the final winner. 

PROJECTION: Biden flips Rust Belt state of Michigan

Now this one is not confirmed but, if true, this would be a massive call in this election. CNN News have projected that Joe Biden will win the battleground state of Michigan, with the state's 16 Electoral College votes enough bring him within touching distance of the 270 mark

As we say, not confirmed yet but Biden is expected to perform well as counting comes to a close here and the Democrat-favouring postal votes are tallied up. A victory here, providing that the previously called states like Wisconsin are not overturned after a recount, would put Biden firmly in the driving seat.

Historic election results in New Mexico

The state's three congressional districts will all be represented by women of colour, a first in US congressional history. They are Democratic incumbent Rep. Deb Haaland, Republican Yvette Herrell and Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez. 

Joe Biden addresses the nation: "Here, the people rule"

The Democratic nominee makes his first public address after a busy second day of vote-counting that saw him clinch the crucial state of Wisconsin. He has not gone so far as to claim victory at this stage, but he made clear that he is expecting a favourable outcome. 

US ELECTIONS

USA elections 2020 results in Wisconsin: who has won the popular and electoral college vote?

Wondering what's gone down in Wisconsin?

Joe Biden's secured a narrow win in the crucial Rust Belt state over incumbent Trump. 

Trump limbers up for legal battle in Pennsylvania and Michigan

Trump campaign said it filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battleground states that could determine whether President Donald Trump gets another four years in the White House.

Suits in both states are demanding better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted. 

The campaign also is seeking to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court that deals with whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said.

The Republican is ahead in Pennsylvania but his margin is shrinking as more mailed ballots are counted.

There have been no reports of fraud or any type of ballot concerns out of Pennsylvania. The state had 3.1 million mail-in ballots that take time to count and an order allows them to be counted up until Friday if they are postmarked by Nov. 3.

Via AP

Wall Street enjoys tech boost as presidential race remains undecided

Technology stocks pushed Wall Street indexes up today as an early vote count pointed to a close race for the White House, although investors remained worried about the prospect of a contested result, according to Reuters.

Nine of the 11 major S&P indexes were up in morning trading, led by information technology and healthcare sectors, as investors said chances faded for Democrats to score a big win in the U.S. Senate, lowering bets of higher antitrust scrutiny and capital gains taxes.

Low hopes for Trump recount in Wisconsin

Associated Press say history dictates it won't make much difference.

Biden just won Wisconsin by more than half a percentage point, or 20,510 votes.

Breaking | Wisconsin for Biden

AP has now joined CNN in calling Wisconsin a Biden win. Trump had taken the state in 2016.

As we reported earlier, the Republicans are planning on making a request for a recount.

CORONAVIRUS USA

Second stimulus check: what has McConnell said about relief package?

Second Stimulus back in the spotlight

Lawmakers got back to the daily grind today while the world waits to hear if Biden or Trump will be the future president, and coronavirus economic relief was high on the agenda. Mitch McConnell, newly re-elected to the Senate says he's pushing for an "end of year" bill. 

Read the full story:

Trump team file Michigan suit to stop vote count

In an extraordinary show of bravado, today Trump's campaign manager filed a lawsuit to halt the completely routine counting of mail-in ballots in the entire state of Michigan.

California Republican Senator Kevin McCarthy holds press conference

On the Republican gains in the Senate this election. Kevin McCarthy reiterates that the GOP want "every legal vote to be counted" but that "people shouldn't be allowed to vote today".

It seems not only Trump is confused about the distinction between voting, and counting votes.

FACT CHECK: As is completely normal in an election, votes received after Election Day will not be counted.

Georgia nearing the finish line...

Of the 200,000 uncounted votes in Georgia, most come from left-leaning areas of metropolitan Atlanta, suggesting they’re likely to skew Democratic, says Stephanie Saul at The New York Times. 

Trump currently leads Biden in Georgia by 83,000 votes.

Trump hypocrisy coming in for it

Trump's team have confirmed they will demand an immediate recount in Wisconsin.

The end is nigh for Wisconsin; Trump recount imminent

There are only about 300 votes left to count in Wisconsin, officials say. They’re in the town of Willow in Richland County.

Biden leads by more than 20,000 votes. 

Meanwhile, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement that Trump “is well within the threshold to request a recount” in Wisconsin, and that the campaign planned to “immediately do so.”

This would incur a $3 million fee to Trump's campaign, as the margin is more than one quarter of a percent.

Social media credits Jon McCain's widow for Biden Arizona win

Thousands on Twitter have thanked Cindy McCain for publicly supporting Biden's Democratic challenge to Trump's GOP.

We expect final results in Michigan and Georgia today, Nevada tomorrow, Pennsylvania late tomorrow, North Carolina could take several days

Federal judge Sullivan makes clear non-compliance unacceptable

In hearing with USPS over non-delivery of mail-in ballots on Election Day.

It is yet unclear whether the number of ballots left behind would affect the election result or in fact be negligible.

Michigan on track for unofficial total by end of today

Democrat Joe Biden remains in a slim lead over Donald Trump in the state. 92% of the votes have now been counted and remaining votes to be counted are expected to favour Democrats.

Federal Court to hear USPS mail-in ballot case at noon ET

A hearing is currently in session with U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan over data seemingly showing that the United States Post Office failed to deliver all remaining mail-in ballots on Election Day.

English former soccer star Gary Lineker rips into Trump

In response to Trump's tweet exclaiming "They are finding Biden votes all over the place — in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!"

Lineker retorted "They’re probably votes for Biden as he was one of the candidates. That’s sort of how elections work, I think."

Lineker has been quipping all day on Twitter, clearly titillated by the election drama:

"This is so educational. Apparently Pennsylvania is not just an Avenue."

"I’ve just learned that Michigan is near Wisconsin."

US ELETION 2020

US Election 2020 results: which swing states have Trump, Biden won?

What are the latest election results in the swing states?

What we know so far at noon ET, Wednesday 4 November on all the key battleground states in this nail-biting presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Twitter takes Donald Trump rantings into its own hands

Twitter this morning has slapped warnings on multiple tweets and retweets  from POTUS on Wednesday, warning that Trump’s statements about “surprise ballot dumps”, Democrats "trying to STEAL the election" were misleading.

Twitter's notice says "Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process."

The move prompted an enraged response from the president, tweeting "WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?"

Judge reviews ballot counting in suburban Philadelphia county

The battle over mail-in ballots rages on. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania weighed arguments by Republicans seeking to stop a suburban Philadelphia county from counting mail-in and absentee ballots that voters had been permitted to correct,according to Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Savage in Philadelphia appeared skeptical of arguments by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, which lawyers for Montgomery County election officials and the Democratic National Committee said could disenfranchise voters.

A decision could have implications for the national presidential race between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Results in several states are unclear, and Pennsylvania is a battleground as mail-in ballots are tabulated. Trump appeared at the White House early Wednesday to falsely claim victory in the presidential race and make unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud.

Biden is expected to address the American people at some point today

Lest we forget...

The incumbent president Donald Trump bidding for re-election for four more years once tweeted this.

Arizona call wrong says Trump team

In a series of flustered statements Trump's team continue to sow unfounded doubts over the legitimacy of votes counted after polls close.

Trump campaign officials tell reporters that "if all legally cast ballots are counted, we believe the president will win." They continue to describe Fox News, AP calls of Arizona for Biden as "just plain wrong."

To be clear once again: never in the history of US elections have the results been known immediately after polls close, mail-in voting counting takes time, it always has, and this year there are millions more mail votes across key states due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden team calm and confident

Amid panicked tweets from the incumbent Trump and threats to bring cases before the Supreme Court, in stark contrast Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign manager, simply says, "Joe Biden is on track to win this election, and he will be the next president of the United States."

You know my position, it is clear ... I have a good policy with Trump, I hope he will be reelected...the Democratic candidate on two occasions talked about the Amazon. Is that what you want for Brazil? Interference from outside?

Error in vote count percentage in Arizona

Because of an error in an Edison Research data feed of results, the estimate of the counted vote in Arizona displaying on maps and tables is too high. The actual estimate is that 86% of the vote has been counted.

Trump camp getting nervous over Wisconsin

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien is projecting confidence in the president's chances in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia. He said Wisconsin was headed to "recount territory."

Wisconsin is currently running at 97% votes counted and a 0.7pp lead to Biden at 7:34am ET.

Via Annie Karni, for NYT in Washington.

Trump's circus continues

The incumbent president is apparently potentially a VERY sore loser, who is gradually and very slightly losing ground to Democrat Joe Biden in several key battleground states (namely Michigan and Wisconsin)

Trump continued today his completely unfounded narrative that counting mail-in votes properly following unprecedented turnout equals fraud.

The irony being that the delay means each ballot is being checked thoroughly against voter registration records to prevent fraud.

Twitter have promised to place warnings on falsehoods this election. So far no warning on this humdinger.

Michigan: Biden pulling into a tentative lead

Biden pulled ahead in Michigan by a whisper of 0.2pp, as another batch of votes rolled in from Wayne County, where Detroit is located.

That heavily Democratic area is currently reporting about 70% of returns, according to reporters for NYT.

In Michigan state now 90% of votes have been counted, and it's widely expected that the remaining 10% will favour Democrats.

Bettors get behind Biden as his luck seems to be turning

Democratic candidate Joe Biden was back as clear favourite to win the U.S. presidential election in online betting markets on Wednesday morning, a reversal of fortune for President Donald Trump who had been favoured overnight.

The shift, according to data from three odds aggregators, came after Biden overtook Trump in the battleground state of Wisconsin, with an estimated 89% of the vote tallied there.

British-based Smarkets exchange was giving Biden a 78% chance, while New Zealand-based predictions market PredictIt had Biden at nearly 80%. Trump’s chances on Smarkets were sitting at 21% - a massive drop from nearly 80% overnight.

“Taking the lead in Wisconsin could be the turning point with the Democrat now also projected to win Nevada and Arizona, which would likely give him the 270 electoral college votes he needs for victory,” Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said.

Acquitted Amanda Knox makes extremely unfunny election "joke"

The one-time accused murderer tweeted today

"Whatever happens, the next four years can't be as bad as that four-year study abroad I did in Italy, right?"

In reference to her conviction, imprisonment and eventual acquittal for the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007.

The results of the election race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is still too close to call on Wednesday.

Taylor Swift invested in Pennsylvania result

The popstar has implored fans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden for months.

US Election 2020

USA Election 2020: Bernie Sanders' October prediction

How did Sanders get it so right? 

Democrat Bernie Sanders made a spookily close prediction back in October and his guesses seem to be unfolding right now.

US exits Paris climate pact quietly today

As the world bites its nails waiting for a decisive US election result today, the USA has quietly slipped out of the Paris Climate accord.

The global agreement was forged 5 years ago, and Trump triggered America's exit one year ago today.

The decision further isolates the United States from the rest of the world but has no immediate impact on international efforts to curb global warming.

189 countries remain committed to the 2015 Paris accord, which aims to keep the increase in average temperatures worldwide “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), ideally no more than 1.5C (2.7 F), compared to pre-industrial levels. A further six countries have signed, but not ratified the pact.

Singer Lana Del Rey in Twitter spat over false accusation she voted Trump

Singer snapped back expletives at the tweet suggesting Del Rey voted for Trump's re-election. I guess she voted Biden, then?

Wisconsin sees small but historic shift to diversity in state government

According to unofficial results from the Dane County Clerk, Francesca Hong, chef and restaurateur, won Wisconsin’s 76th Assembly District race and became Wisconsin’s first Asian American state representative. 

In addition Ald. Samba Baldeh defeated Republican Samuel Anderson in the 48th Assembly and became Wisconsin’s first Muslim man elected to the Legislature. Baldeh moved to Madison from Gambia two decades ago and joined Madison’s City Council in 2015.

Ink shortage holds up remaining Wisconsin count

The absentee ballot results in Green Bay, Wisconsin, are delayed because one of the vote-counting machines ran out of ink. An elections official had to return to City Hall to get more.

So far 92% of votes have been counted in the state and Biden leads Trump by a hair's breadth.

Via NYT.

Pennsylvania: still all to play for

But too close for comfort. NYT from New York report that Trump leads by nearly 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania.

That means Biden’s chances there depend on whether he can win a large percentage of more than 1.4 million uncounted absentee ballots. 

Joe Biden has won absentee ballots counted in Pennsylvania by an overwhelming margin so far, according to data from the Secretary of State early Wednesday. If he carried the remaining absentee ballots by a similar margin, he would win the state.

Nevada, where Biden is narrowly in lead, expect results Thursday

According to The New York Times, Nevada (worth 6 electoral college votes) where Joe Biden holds a narrow lead early Wednesday, will not announce any new updates on election results until 9 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday, state election officials said.

So far, all in-person votes and all mail-in ballots through Nov. 2 have been counted, the election division of the secretary of state’s office said in a tweet on Wednesday morning.

Mail-in ballots received on Election Day, mail-in ballots received over the next week and provisional ballots still need to be counted.

US Election 2020

US Election 2020: how will mail votes affect the results?

How do high numbers of mail votes affect election results?

It's a complex numbers game, certainly slowing the results but will the winner be affected by the rise in postal ballots?

Stocks react to uncertainty in election results

Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes rose in volatile trading on Wednesday as investors faced the prospect of a drawn-out and potentially contested U.S. election result after President Donald Trump took the lead in some key states.

Both Trump and Biden claimed they were on course for victory after results for a majority of states were called. Trump went further, claiming falsely that the election was being “stolen” from him with millions of votes still uncounted.

The knife-edge election and the prospect of an acrimonious legal battle to determine the winner sent S&P e-mini futures tumbling 1.15% earlier, but they recovered to trade up 0.5% by 5:54 a.m. ET.

“The indecisiveness in futures is not surprising because we don’t yet have a clear result,” said Nicolas Janvier, head of U.S. equities at Columbia Threadneedle in London.

Via Reuters.

First ever transgender senator in US history

Congratulations to Sarah McBride and her state of Delaware.

"The Squad" of women in Congress triumph

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan all succeeded in keeping their seats in Congress this year.

Read about why AOC can't run for office.

US Election 2020

USA Election in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan: latest votes and when will we know results?

Latest vote counts in the Rust Belt states

Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin could make or break the election for Trump or Biden.

US ELECTIONS

USA elections 2020 results in North Carolina: who has won popular and college vote?

North Carolina close to end of vote count

Where does the balance tip in the swing state with 15 electoral seats up for grabs?

US ELECTION

USA Elections 2020 results in Illinois: who has won the popular and college vote?

Who won in the Prairie State?

With 20 electoral college votes up for grabs, the results are in for Illinois.

US ELECTIONS

USA elections 2020 results in Georgia: who has won popular and college vote?

What's the score in Georgia?

With 92% of the vote counted it's still too close to call, but here are the latest numbers.

US Elections

US Elections 2020: Trump prematurely claims to have won the presidential election

Yes, this actually did happen

Full story on the moment POTUS claimed a false, premature victory when it suited him.

Other key votes Tuesday that weren't Trump vs. Biden

A little light relief from all the election tension, via Reuters.

Voters in New Jersey and Arizona legalised marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday, and in Oregon approved the country’s first therapeutic use for psilocybin, the hallucinogenic drug known as magic mushrooms.

Colorado voters defeated a measure that would have banned late-term abortions, Florida approved a hike in the minimum wage and California exempted rideshare and delivery drivers from a state law that would have made them employees of companies such as Lyft and Uber, rather than independent contractors.

Rapper Kanye West responds to failed presidential bid

The rapper known as Yeezy was rushed onto the ballot in 12 states after only announcing his candidacy in July.

Read the full story.

What's the latest in each state?

The latest figures show Biden with 238 and Trump with 213 electoral college seats. Still everything to play for with the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania Michigan and Wisconsin to be called.

US Elections

US Elections 2020: Trump prematurely claims to have won the presidential election

Trump's wildly irresponsible speech

People were worried he would do it, he said he wasn't going to... he did it anyway. Trump falsely claimed he'd won the election, and peddled crazy claims that a fraud is being perpetrated on the American people. It's clear what his game is, but it's a pretty shocking, dirty game. 

Trump breaks electoral and covid-19 rules with White House speech

There are, understandably, guidelines about using taxpayer-funded resources when a sitting President is running a re-election campaign. Although a news conference is permitted, addressing a room of family, friends and supporters to rapturous applause is not. He cancelled an Election Night party at his Washington hotel to be at the White House tonight, making it pretty clear than this was a Trump Campaign event. 

From what could be seen on the footage, it didn't appear that anyone in the vacinity was wearing a face mask. Given that the White House was named as the center of a covid-19 outbreak little over a month ago, and that a recent event in the Rose Garden was described as a 'super-spreader event', this ommission seems particularly brazen. 

Fairly trivial in the grand scheme of things, but another couple of lines that the President has gleefully crossed. 

MSNBC reporter says 2m votes left to count in Pennsylvania

The president is calling to halt counting already, to disenfranchise potentially millions of legitimate voters. He only won there by 44,292 votes in 2016.

Don't say you weren't warned...

AP calls Arizona for Joe Biden

Contrary to recent ramblings, the 2020 presidential election is far from over and Biden has just secured a vital win in a formerly Republican state. Arizona adds another 11 Electoral College votes to his total. 

Here's the state of play as Trump declares victory

The President is banking on victories in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that only voted for him by slender margins in 2016. With mail-in votes (which are more commonly utilised by Democrat voters) likely to be the last to be returned a Joe Biden win is far from unlikely. 

In fact, some commentators have Biden as a narrow favourite at this stage.

The President is demanding that the Supreme Court rule that all uncounted votes are discarded, despite the election still being too close to call

Says it all, really.

A breakdown of Donald Trump's shocking White House press conference

- The President told the American people: “We were all ready to just go outside and celebrate something wonderful”

- He continued by making a number of baseless claims about impending victories in crucial swing votes: “It is also clear that we have won Georgia... likewise we have clearly won North Carolina”

- He moved on to say of the Democrats: “They knew they couldn’t win, so they’re taking us to court”. In response, Trump revealed that he will now be taking this to the Supreme Court to prevent any more votes being counted. 

- TO BE CLEAR: The President of the United States is demanding that hundreds of thousands of votes cast by the American people are discounted because he believes he has already won

“They knew they couldn’t win, so they’re taking us to court.

"This is a fraud on the American people.

"We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we had won this election… This is a major fraud on our election"

Trump addresses his supporters in the White House

The President is running through a list of states he has won, and ones that he expects to win in the near future. As of yet he has not gone so far as to explicitly claim a win, but he's getting there...

Protesters gather in Washington on Election Night

Most of the world has had their eyes on the polls but many took to the streets last night to voice their disapproval of President Donald Trump's time in the White House. It is thought that around a thousand people, many of whom carried Black Lives Matters placards, were involved in the demostrations. Some clips from social media appeared to show protesters clashing with police. 

LIVE: President to address the nation from the White House

Election Night 2020 got off to a slow start but a flurry of late activity saw Donald Trump win important victories in Texas and Florida. He has already claimed on Twitter that he is "up BIG" (despite currently being behind in terms of Electoral College votes) and will be speaking live from the White House shortly. 

Stay tuned...

Facebook adds warning note on post by Joe Biden

It seems like it's all square in the 'race to get temporarily locked out of your social media account for failing to comply with site policy'. Shortly after Donald Trump's Tweet was slapped with a "misleading" warning, a Facebook post by Joe Biden suffered a similar fate.

The Democratic candidate posted to say he was still confident of winning the election, telling his supporters: “Keep the faith, guys. We’re gonna win this.” 

In response, Facebook added: “Votes are being counted. The winner of the 2020 US Presidential Election has not been projected."

Here's what we know so far from Georgia

The southern state has voted for Republican candidates in the last five US presidential elections and with 91% of votes counted it looks like doing the same again in 2020. Donald Trump has a 2.5 percentage point lead as it stands but his victory is far from guaranteed.

Remember, a major counting center in Atlanta, Georgia has had to stop counting postal votes after a water leak a few hours ago. Joe Biden tends to fare better in the cities and with most of the uncounted votes coming from the state's largest urban area the Democrats are still in with a chance. 

No expense spared In Los Angeles County, California

Everyone wants this final count confirmed as quickly as possible and California are going above and beyond to get theirs reported swiftly. With 55 Electoral College votes California has the most of any state and is a Democrat stronghold, returning seven consecutive blue votes. 

Nebraska returns final Electoral College vote

The midwestern state is one of two who divide its Electoral College votes up to reflect the split of votes amongst its electorate. In 2016 Donald Trump won all five so the results this time around suggest a slightly improved performance from the Democrats. 

Interestingly, the other state to split its vote is Maine, another midwestern state that could be important if Biden is to pick up any Electoral College votes in the region. 

Joe Biden, alongside wife Jill, gives speech from Delaware

The Democratic candidate insisted that he is still confident about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and expressed thanks to his team,

Social media companies move to counter misleading Trump tweet

Shortly after seeing Florida called in his favour, the President took to Twitter to claim that: "they are trying to STEAL the Election". 

No precise details about 'who' or 'how' were given but Twitter almost immediately flagged the post with a warning of "misleading" content. The Republicans have undoubtedly secured some important wins this evening but Joe Biden has also seen Arizona called for him, flipping a usually red state. In short, it's a bit early to be starting a victory lap and Twitter are clearly hoping to nip it in the bud. 

AP calls Texas for Donald Trump

The Lone Star State is a pretty safe haven for Republicans usually but this year the early Election Night projections had Joe Biden with a narrow lead. However it was not to be and the President came storming back to seize all 38 Electoral College votes. 

This is not a revelatory victory for Trump but in the context of a potential defeat just a few hours earlier, it does seem like an important win. It doesn't matter too much at this stage, but Republicans will be delighted to see the President's Electoral Colleg tally building nicely.

2020 US ELECTIONS

USA Elections 2020 results in Ohio: who has won the popular and college vote?

Donald Trump retains Ohio

In recent weeks Joe Biden has been pouring money into the state but it was all in vain, here's how the vote went down in th Buckeye State

Trump staffers suggest Biden still in with a good chance

Florida was a biggy for the President but the race is far from over. Joe Biden still leads in the states that have been called so far and with a potential flip in Arizona and/or Texas he has options. 

An unnamed Team Trump staffer has reportedly told Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post that the momentum is shifting towards the Democrats. 

Biden: "It's the decision of the American people, but I'm optimistic about the outcome of this election"

Shortly before Trump gives his statement, Democratic nominee spoke from his Delaware to make clear that he is not giving up hope on this election. Losing Florida is a blow for Biden but if Arizona falls his way and he can pick up some more swings states, the White House is still in sight. 

Let's see what the President makes of all this...

Trump to make statement tonight on "a big WIN"

Following swiftly after the calling on Florida in his favour, the President has announced that he will be making a statement tonight. No details yet but it seems clear that Donald Trump is feeling optimistic about his chances of a second term. 

In a Tweet posted just a minute earlier he said: "We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Poles are closed!"

AP calls Florida for Trump

Now then, this is a big one. Many Democrats felt that a victory in the perpetual swing state of Florida represented their best chance of defeating Donald Trump but that option appears to be off the table as AP call the Sunshine State for the President. 

At 12:35AM Eastern Time this is a pretty swift turnaround from the vote-counters in the context of this election, and points to a pretty stark under-performance from the Democrats. Trump will pick up another 29 Electoral College votes and many will ask why Biden was not able to connect with voters more effectively. 

There were warning signs earlier this evening when exit polls suggested that Biden was performing worse than Hillary had done in the states's largest county: Miami-Dade. There are still routes to the White House for Biden, but the presidential pendulum has definitely swung in Trump's favour. 

Trump scoops up a trio of victories

The President has now been confirmed as the winner in Ohio, Montana and Iowa. Each of these were states he won in 2016 but Ohio was picked out by pollsters as a potential swing state, so Donald Trump will be relieved to pick up the 18 Electoral College votes once again. 

In reply Joe Biden claims Hawaii and Minnesota. It's a bit later than usual but we're getting a little flurry of activity from state electoral authorities now. 

Trump furious with Fox News' early Arizona call

If you're looking for shocks this Election Night, this isn't one of them: the President was reportedly so angry with his favourite broadcasters for calling Ariona in Joe Biden's favour that he has demanded they retract it. 

The Washington Post quotes Trump's senior advisor, Jason Miller, as saying: “Can’t believe Fox was so anxious to pull the trigger here after taking so long to call Florida. Wow"

Presidential election could end in a draw

Pre-election it was dismissed as unthinkable but as the map begins to fill up there are definitely scenarios in which we could be heading for a 269-269 split.

How would a tie be settled and what would it mean for the presidency? We've got all the answers in our contingent election explainer.

US ELECTION 2020

US presidential election 2020 results map: who won each state?

Election Night Map: UPDATE

With more states called for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, here's our up-to-date presidential election map as it starts to fill up with blue and red. 

"The election is not over on Nov.3"

Some sage advice from NowThisNews this Election Night: the unique circumstances of the 2020 presidential race means that we're not going to get a definitive answer tonight. 

There's still votes to be counted and, in some cases, received with postal voting delaying an already fairly chaotic election. We've got up-to-date election maps here all the way through so you can keep track as the results come in. 

Ohio called for Donald Trump

The President appears to be clinging to another of the formerly Democratic states that he flipped in 2016.  NBC News have called Ohio's 18 Electoral College votes for Donald Trump. 

Given that he won here by eight points in 2016, another Trump victory in the Buckeye State is not a disaster for the Democrats but it is another opportunity missed. Here, as is the case with a number of the states Trump has retained tonight, we'll get a better idea of Biden's chances nationwide when we see the vote count. 

Ohio called for Donald Trump

The President appears to be clinging to another of the formerly Democratic states that he flipped in 2016.  NBC News have called Ohio's 18 Electoral College votes for Donald Trump. 

Given that he won here by eight points in 2016, another Trump victory in the Buckeye State is not a disaster for the Democrats but it is another opportunity missed. Here, as is the case with a number of the states Trump has retained tonight, we'll get a better idea of Biden's chances nationwide when we see the vote count. 

Republicans grow in confidence in their bid to retain the Senate

NBC News gives a handy breakdown of the Senate race with the Democrats needing to overturn a three-seat deficit to win control of the Upper House. It's still too early to say with any confidence but it does appear that the window of opportunity for the Democrats is shrinking with some under-fire Republican Senators performing well. 

AOC hits out at Democratic Party for failing to engage with Latinos

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has retained her seat in the House as Representative for New York's 14th District but she is clearly far from happy with how Election Night has panned out. Joe Biden, from what we can see at this early stage, has underperformed amongst Hispanic voters and appears to have given Donald Trump a route to victory.

The heavily Latino county (the largest in the state) appears to be moving towards Trump when compared to four years ago, an inconceiveable result for Democrats who feel their best chance at winning back the White House is trhough Florida. 

Trump supporters take to the streets to celebrate in Florida

The Sunshine State is still too close to call but some promising early signs from the President gives him a good chance of retaining the 29 Electoral College votes. His supporters were cheering outside of the Versailles restaurant on Election Night as they await news of the next President of the United States. 

2020 US ELECTIONS

USA Elections 2020 results in Texas: who has won the popular and college vote?

USA Elections 2020 results in Texas

Here's the lay of the land in Texas as Joe Biden's intitially strong showing was pegged back by a surge of votes for President Donald Trump. 

Key swing states will not be able to return their results on Election Night

As we expected the combination of a soaring turnout, a huge number of early and postal votes and the closeness of some key races means we will not get results back for days in some states. Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania form part of the all-important Rust Belt that won Donald Trump the election in 2016, but none will be called tonight. 

Arizona Senate seat flips in Democrats' favour

Building on that call from Fox News, there does seem to be some sign of Democratic success in AZ as Mark Kelly unseats Republican Senator Martha McSally. This gives the Democrats a one-point gain in the Upper House as it stands. 

Fox News calls Arizona for Biden

Finally, this (could be) a pivotal call. There has not been any official confirmation at this stage but Fox News have called Arizona for Joe Biden, which would be the first state flipped in the 2020 presidential election. 

Not only that but it's a fairly beefy state too with 11 Electoral College votes potentially turning blue. In 2016 Trump secured a four percentage point victory over Hillary Clinton, which would represent a sizeable swing for Biden this time around. Far from confirmed, but a fascinating call at this stage. 

Judge rules against Team Trump for a second time

GOP activists have mounted two last-ditch legal challenges to the counting practices of mail-in ballots in Clark County, Nevada but have twice been denied. They had requested that the votes submitted through this method be thrown out. 

As The Hill explains: [The Trump campaign] "complained, without supporting evidence, that an automated signature-matching device used by the county and at various sites across the country had opened the door to fraudulent ballots."

Good omens for Trump in the Rust Belt

Mahoning County, Ohio is projected to go Republican this election, for the first time in nearly 50 years. As the chair of Students For Trump Charlie Kirk is quite clearly leaning in the President's favour, but it does appear that Donald Trump's pre-election tour of the Rust Belt may be paying dividends. 

Election Night Map: UPDATE

Here we go, a few more states are called by AP and our updated election map now gives Joe Biden a solid lead, although he yet to record any break-though victories. A double of Texas and Florida would be enough to win him the White House but, realistically, even picking up one would be a great result for the Democrats. 

VOTING HAS CLOSED in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington

Election Day is drawing a close across the US now as another four states reach their polling deadline. We’re not expected anything too dramatic here. Oregon, California and Washington should be comfortable wins for Joe Biden, while Trump looks certain to retain Idaho.

AP: New Hampshire remains Democrat

Hillary Clinton won the state's four Electoral College votes in 2016 by less than a single percentage point, and it appears Joe Biden will have extended that lead this time 

New direction needed for the Democrats?

It's still far too early to start congratulating either candidate but there are certainly a few takeaways for the Democrats. Some had predicted a 'blue wave' this election with Donald Trump expected to suffer for his mismanagement of the pandemic and 'erractic' first term, but he appears to be neck-and-neck with the challenger. 

Democratic Strategist & Columnist Max Burns took to Twitter to call for a new-look Democratic party as they again struggle to pick up the working class vote that they had traditionally relied upon. 

Election Night Map: UPDATE

The map is slowly starting to fill up this Election Night as we get a better idea of the course of the 2020 presidential election. No huge surprises so far but Team Biden may be a bit concerned by a lack of progress in certain states. 

New Mexico, for example, went to HIllary Clinton in 2016 by a margin of over eight percentage points. This time around, the Democrat's lead is around five. 

US Elections

USA elections 2020 results in New York: who has won the popular and college vote?

Everything you need to know about Biden's New York victory

New York has been called for the challenger Joe Biden, handing the democratic candidate the state's 29 electoral college votes.

NBC: Trump retains Utah

The President secured a resounding victory in Utah in 2016 and with a 20-point margin and he has clinched the state's six Electoral College votes again. 

Latest headlines for the 2020 presidential election:

- Latest prejections: Biden on 119 Electoral College votes to President Donald Trump's 94, but there are still 325 to play for

- NBC News projections suggest the Democrats will retain majority in the House of Representatives

- Both parties have flipped a seat in the Senate, preservering the Republican's three-seat advantage

- The President is performing well in Florida, apparently beating the pollsters in the state's largest county: Miami-Dade

- Recent data puts Trump ahead in Texas after an strong early showing from Biden

- Final turnout figure could be the highest for nearly a century

- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wins re-election in Kentucky

- Final count for Atlanta, Georgia likely to be delayed after pipe burst in counting center

2020 US ELECTIONS

USA Elections 2020 results in Pennsylvania: who has won the popular and college vote?

How are things looking in the battleground state of Pennsylvania?

Here's the state of play for presidential election results in the Keystone State, as Donald Trump and Joe Biden wrestle for the 20 electoral college votes

Republicans flip Alabama Senate seat

And we're all square in the Senate. Just after the Democrats closed the defecit in the Upper House the Republicans get one back as Tommy Tuberville defeats Doug Jones. It's bad news for the Dems but Jones was always considered a weak seat due to the manner of his previous victory. 

As per the New York Times: "Senator Doug Jones is the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the chamber. He won a special election in 2017 against Roy S. Moore, a Republican accused of sexual abuse and child molestation."

AOC is back for NYC

House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has won a second term as Representative for New York's 14th district. On hearing of the victory, she said: 

"Serving NY-14 and fighting for working class families in Congress has been the greatest honor, privilege, & responsibility of my life."

BBC American correspondent Emily Maitlis crunches the numbers

It couldn't, could it? It almost unthinkable that the 540 Electoal College votes could be divided equally when the dust has settled but, as Emily Maitlis points out, it is not impossible. 

This would be the messiest of all the possible Election Night outcomes, but we've taken a look at what would happen in the case of a contingent election.

Vote dump from Arizona is promising for Biden

Arizona returns its voting figures in a series of 'dumps', providing a big batch of vote data at a time. The Phoenix metro area comprises 60% of AZ's population and, with 77% of the votes counted, Joe Biden has a sizeable lead.

Current data has Biden on 54.2, while 44.6 of the votes so far accounted from have gone Trump. 

NYT correspondent suggests Trump is doing well in Pennsylvania

Trumbell County, Ohio is right on the border with Pennsylvania and could give a good idea of how Joe Biden's childhood state is likely to vote. Donald Trump is apparently slightly up on his 2016 performance, suggesting another decent showing from his in the Rust Belt states. 

Strong showing puts Trump back in the lead in Texas

Most Democrats admitted it was always a long shot and it appears that Texas is now leaning back towards the Republicans. There is still a chance here for Joe Biden but he needs to pull something out of the fire to turn the Lone Star State back in his favour now. 

Incumbent Republican loses Senate race in Colorado

Democrat challenger John Hickenlooper took to Twitter to say: "Thank you, Colorado! Serving you is the honor of my life, and I can’t wait to be your Senator."

This is the first Democratic flip in the Republican-held Senate. They need another two flips to draw level in the 100-seat house, with the deciding vote going to whoever wins the vice presidential in the case of a tie. 

Florida Senator calls the Sunshine State for Trump

Now, this is definitely one to take with a healthy pinch of salt at this stage, but the Republican Senator for Florida Rick Scott believes that the crucial swing state will land for the President. The data suggests that it is still too close to call with any certainty, but Trump is performing better than expected in key areas like Miami-Dade. 

VOTING HAS CLOSED in Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah

In 2016 Montana and Utah were comfortable wins for the President which look insurmountable this time. Nevada and Iowa, however, seem to offer some hope for both candidates in 2020.

Donald Trump won Iowa by nearly 10 points in 2016 but polls in recent weeks have put him and Joe Biden at level pegging. Likewise, Nevada was a narrow win for Hillary Clinton four years ago and Trump may harbour ambitions of flipping the state's six Electoral College votes.

Ohio swings back into Trump’s favour

The 18 Electoral College votes that Donald Trump won in Ohio in 2016 could be back in the red column as data from the last few minutes puts the President back in the lead. This is still a sizeable change from four years ago when Trump secured an eight percentage point victory but even a narrow margin could be telling in the course of this election. 

UPDATE: Donald Trump (South Dakota) and Joe Biden (Connecticut)

It's one apiece for each candidate as results keep rolling in. 

The New York Times has Biden ahead but there's plently left on the table

As of 9:03pm Eastern Time the Democratic candidate has 119 Electoral College votes to President Donald Trump's 94 but with 325 still to play for it's anyone's race. 

UPDATE on where we stand this Election Night

With more results coming in Associated President have been able to call a few more states for either campaign. Here's where we stand..

President Donald Trump: SD, ND, NB, WY, LA, ​

Joe Biden: NM, NY

VOTING HAS CLOSED in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming

The second widespread deadline has just passed at 9pm Eastern. This one includes a few of the crucial Rust Belt state (Michigan and Wisconsin in particular) which will tell us whether Joe Biden has been to flip back some of the states that Donald Trump won in 2016.

Texas, too, looks like becoming a big player in the 2020 presidential election. Traditionally resoundingly Republican, Biden’s team were confident enough to campaign there in recent days and he could run it close.

USA ELECTIONS

US Elections 2020: Sport and politics, an American romance

US Elections 2020: Sport and politics, an American romance

As the nation votes for the next president, we look at how sporting teams and leagues have poured millions of dollars into political parties.

Delaware elects US' first transgender State Senator

Sen. Sarah McBride has made history with her victory in Delaware, becoming the first openly out transgender Senator. She has posted a thanks to her supporters on Twitter, saying: "We did it. We won the general election. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too."

Biden putting on strong showing in Texas

There's not been too much to get excited about for the Democrats so far but early signs from the Lone Star State are promising. Texas is usually resolutely Republican but, with 47% of the votes counted, AP puts Joe Biden slightly ahead of the President. 

Still far from settled, of course, but certainly one to keep an eye on. 

New York Times puts Trump ahead in three key states

There's good news for the President as the latest data from the New York Times gives him a very good chance of success in some important battleground states. Florida is the biggy for team Trump, with Joe Biden out-performing him in many of the pre-election polls. 

Even if this projection is proved right there are still paths to the White House for Biden, but that route is looking a lot more precarious now. 

US Elections

USA Elections 2020 results in Florida: who has won the popular and college vote?

USA Elections 2020 results in Florida: who has won the popular and college vote?

Here's what we know so far about the state of play in the battleground state...

Georgia vote count delayed by burst pipe in polling center

The votes are flooding in across the country but there's a danger of them being flooded out in Atlanta, Georgia as plumbing issues brings the vote count to a standstill. Georgia went Republican in 2016 but with polls predicting a Democratic resurgence Joe Biden's team holds out hope of capturing the 16 Electoral College votes. 

As the state's largest city the outcome from Atlanta could be crucial, so we may not get a definitive answer here for some time. 

Update from Florida

Counting continues in Florida with Donald Trump edging ahead, given a 2 percentage point lead by the New York Times with plenty still to be tallied up. 

Election Night Map: UPDATE

There's some more states in the red column as data suggests a series of wins for Donald Trump in the traditionally Republican southern states. 

VOTING HAS CLOSED in Arkansas

In 2016 the state’s 6 Electoral College votes went to Donald Trump with a majority of over 60% and he appears to have picked up the votes again this time.

We’ve now seen the polls close in over half of the states on Election Night, stay with us as we keep you up to date with all the breaking news and latest developments.

2020 US ELECTIONS

When will we know election results and who has won?

When will we know election results and who has won?

The polls are closing, the results are rolling in, but when will we get a definitive result for the 2020 presidential election?

Controversial Senate Majority Leader wins re-election

Sen. Mitch McConnell has been a prominent figure in recent months as a key negotiator in talks over a second covid-19 stimulus bill. He has clashed with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi about the size and scope of the financial package but has retained his seat tonight. 

Police clash with protesters in Washington

Shops boarded up; roads closed off; and extra fencing around the White House: Washington DC was preparing for conflict this election night and it appears to be starting as videos circulating on Twitter show. 

Miami-Dade could be turning Florida in Trump's favour

Of all the counties in the hotly-contested state, Miami-Dade would be the biggest prize for the President. Hillary Clinton performed well in Florida's biggest county in 2016 but Donald Trump looks to have made up a remarkable amount of ground there. Figures suggest he is picking up around 45% of the vote in the highly Hispanic area, a 12 percentage point increase on four years ago. 

Narrow lead in Florida for the President with 85% of votes counted

Swinging back again in Donald Trump's favour, the latest data suggests that the President has the narrowest of leads in the Sunshine State. He is currently given a 0.2 percentage point advantage but with plenty of votes still to be counted this is still anyone's. 

Election Night Map: UPDATE

Here's where we stand at the moment, a lead for Joe Biden but no surprises yet as all states called early go as expected. 

Burst of calls for both Trump and Biden as polling closes in a number of states

Here's how we're looking as the result start flooding in, all of these results have been called by Associated Press:

AL Trump 

CT Biden

DL Biden

IL Biden

MD Biden

MA Biden

MS Trump

NJ Biden

VOTING HAS CLOSED in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Tennessee.

OK, this is a big one. Voting finished at 8pm Eastern Time in a number of key battleground states which could well have huge a big say on the election. Florida has been talked about for months as a decisive state but, as always, it looks like being incredibly close. Early projections suggest Donald Trump may slightly over-perform the pollsters’ predictions but Joe Biden is still well in the race.

Pennsylvania will also be a fascinating bellwether for the hotly-contested Rust Belt states. Trump’s election victory in 2016 was built on success in that region but Pennsylvania-born Biden will be confident of recapturing the state.

AP calls Virginia for Joe Biden

Virginia's 13 Electoral College votes look set to be going to the Democrats after AP called the race in Biden's favour. Hillary Clinton won this state comfortably in 2016 so this one's gone to plan for the Biden campaign

CBS News data suggests North Carolina and Ohio are too close to call

Both North Carolina and Ohio voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but could be swinging back the other way, with the two candidates currently neck-and-neck according to CBS News data. Ohio in particular has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and some commentators suggest that could see some turn against the President.

Two-hour voting deadline extension in Georgia

Now this could be a controversial one. Georgia's deputy secretary of state Jordan Fuchs has announced that he will be keeping polling stations in Spalding County open after a number of voting machine experienced technical difficulties today. 

Georgia traditionally leans Republican and voted Trump in 2016 but recent polls suggest that the margin has narrowed, with some putting Biden ahead. If the final count is close here you can bet there will be a pretty unhappy loser on one side of the other. 

US Elections

USA Elections 2020 results in Florida: who has won the popular and college vote

Incredibly tight in Florida

With 77% in, there's just 159,116 votes between the candidates.

New AP projections suggest Biden has slim advantage in Florida

This one seems likely to swing back and forth all night but Associated Press data puts the Democrats slightly ahead with around 15 minutes of polling left in Florida. However we're expecting bumper turnout figures here which could work in Donald Trump's favour if he has managed to mobilize his support effectively in his recent burst of campaigning.

West Virginia called for President Trump by AP

And it's another one for the red corner, again very much going with the form book. Trump picked up 68.5% of the vote in West Virginia in 2016 and it looks like he'll be getting those five Electoral College votes again. 

VOTING HAS CLOSED in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia

Another three states have reached their deadlines as early results begin to flood in on Election Night. Voting has finished in Ohio and West Virginia but four districts in North Carolina will be staying open for between 17 and 45 minutes to compensate for a delayed start this morning.

The one to watch here will probably be Ohio (18 Electoral College votes) which Donald Trump won in 2016 but polls suggest has narrowed. Most polls have the President slightly ahead but a recent study by Research Co. put the two candidates level.

MSNBC breaks down the state of play in Florida

Increased turnout in Miami-Dade may have nudged the Sunshine State into the President's favour.

Early data from Florida looks good for Trump

Projections from the New York Times currently put President Donald Trump around three percentage points ahead in the Sunshine State. Florida was crucial to the Republican win in 2016 and with 29 Electoral College votes on offer it has been the focus for both campaigns this time around. 

This is far from confirmed but with Florida likely to be a key swing state again this early projection looks positive for Trump. 

Maine on track to beat turnout record

Experts are predicting a bumper year for election turnout after the record-breaking early voting of close to 100 million and early indications suggest that is the case. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap spoke to CNN about the day's events:

“We expected very light turnout with such high absentee ballot numbers, but in fact the turnout was pretty strong and steady in most places we've gone."

AP calls Vermont for Biden

And it's the first one in the blue column. Associated Press have called Vermont for the Democrats as Joe Biden retains the state. 

Indiana gives Trump an 11-0 lead in the electoral college

Here's the first map of the night. Indiana called for Trump by pretty much everyone. Remember it's not official, but nobody has any doubts about this one.

NBC News calls Indiana for President Donald Trump

And we're underway! NBC News has called Indiana for the Republicans, not a huge surprise given his 19-point winning margin there in 2016 but it seems like an early box has been ticked for the President. 

VOTING HAS CLOSED in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia

Polling stations in six states have now closed for the 2020 presidential election. We’re not expecting any big surprises from this first batch with all expected to be a comfortable victory for either Trump or Biden.

Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina are traditionally Republican states, while Vermont and Virginia both voted Democrat four years ago so Biden will be hoping to increase his margins there.

USPS inspections would have caused 'sgnificant delays'

Following on from that breaking news story about 300,000 missing postal ballots, a statement from the US Postal Service claims that they were not able to comply with the federal court order due to time constrainsts.

"Given the time constraints set by this Court's order, and the fact that Postal Inspectors operate on a nationwide basis, Defendants were unable to accelerate the daily review process to run from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. without significantly delaying preexisting activities on the day of the election", it said.

You get the feeling this is not the last we will hear of this...

Polls closing at 19:30 ET

North Carolina*, Ohio and West Virginia close at 19:30 ET.

Four counties have an extension in North Carolina due to irregularities this morning.

USPS ignores court order as 300,000 postal votes are lost

We reported earlier that Judge Emmet Sullivan had ordered US Postal Service inspectors to attend key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida to “sweep the facilities" and ensure all postal votes are counted. Well it seems like that won't be happening as the USPS has ignored the order. 

As reported by AJ+, a substantial number of ballots can not be traced and with the majority of states not accepting postal votes after Election Day it could cause disputes and legal challenges in the coming days and weeks. Donald Trump has repeatedly complained of the dangers of mail-in ballots and, although his claims have been widely disproved, this episode looks likely to add fuel to the fire. 

Biden's route to the White House

The Democratic candidate's preferred path to 270: hold the swing states Clinton won in  2016 (Nevada, Colorado, New Hampshire, Minnesota) and then put back together what's known as the Blue Wall in the midwest, retaking Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Biden is up +10 in Wisconsin, +9 in Michigan and +6 in Pennsylvania (though Trump has been attacking hard there). 

Biden's B route: If the challenger can't rebuild the Blue Wall, his next best option appears to lie further south, in the Sun Belt, where he would hope to win tighter states such as North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and in particular Florida, which has long been identified as a possible key battleground in this election. 
 

Last minute registrations could swing Michigan

A number of states allow same-day voter registration which could be a crucial factor in some important battleground states. Among then are the swing states of Minnesota, Wyoming and Michigan, which had reported a staggering 12,530 new voters by 2:30pm today. 

Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 with a series of narrow wins in these states, so a late surge could be enough to overthrow his slender advantage. 

North Carolina extension

Remember, some counties have extended polling hours after problems this morning. Call if you have doubts. Don't lose your vote.

Indiana and Kentucky solidly red say CNN

According to CNN, the voting in these two historically Republican states has gone Trump's way:

Trump: Indiana - 66.7%; Kentucky - 67.3%
Biden: Indiana - 31.4%; Kentucky - 31.2%

Exit polls

According to CBS News, Biden supporters were concerned over racial inequality and the coronavirus pandemic, according to their exit polls. Meanwhile pollster Nate Silver says he would ignore exit polls: "Lot's of weird, somewhat incongruous results based on what's been reported." 

President optimistic about election results

With the end of polling fast approaching in a number of key states Donald Trump has a good feeling about the course of the 2020 presidential election. Having recently told Florida Senator Rick Scott of a "huge" Republican turnout he's now feeling positive about results "all over the country". 

Poll closing draws near in six states

Residents of Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia now have just 50 minutes left to vote in the 2020 presidential election. The polls in those states will close at 7pm Eastern Time. 

However it's worth noting, if you find yourself stuck in a queue when the deadline passes, stay there. As long as you're in line before the deadline you are still eligible to vote. 

The New York Times predicts historic turnout figures

In a uniquely devisive and undubtedly crucial presidential election Americans have been eager to make sure that their voices are being heard. After record-breaking early voting numbers that smashed the previous best, it looks like we could be on for the highest turnout in over a century. 

2020 UUS ELECTIONS

What does it mean that USA Elections are indirect elections?

One person, one vote, right?

The US does not elect its President according to the popular vote, here's how things work in the US once polling stops...

Trump tells Florida Senator of "huge Republican turnout"

Donald Trump faced a tough fight to retain Florida after polling suggested that the state's significant elderly population were starting to turn against him, but the President seems confident. Florida Senator Rick Scott has just announced that he has spoken to Trump today who told him he expects a "big win". 

Much of Trump's recent campaigning has centered around mobilising his existing support, and if he can bring the Republicans out in numbers he could have enough to keep the vital swing state. 

New data from Team Biden suggests Florida is too close to call

As reported by Bo Erickson, CBS reporter with the Joe Biden campaign, the Democrats feel they are performing well in a number of key states but admit that Florida still hangs in the balance. With 29 Electoral College votes the winner of the Sunshine State will be taking a big step towards the White House. 

Republican Governor snubs Trump

For the second presidential election in a row, Republican Governor of Vermont Phil Scott has revealed that he did not vote for his party's candidate, Donald Trump. He becomes the first incumbent Republican governor to publicly support the challenger, Joe Biden. 

"I put country over party," Scott told Seven Days. "It's been a bit of a struggle for me, but I ended up voting for Joe Biden,"

Black Lives Matter signs appear near the White House

A series of pacards have been added to a fence surrounding Lafayette Square, near the White House, today as Americans looks to make their voices heard this Election Day. Many of the signs reference support for the Black Lives Matter movement, which spread around the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and has been a major issue during the course of the election campaign. 

Streets locked down in Washington DC on Election Night

We've already seen shops and businesses boarded up in the capital and even the White House has received some extra protection, but authorities are now going further. Josh Schwerin has just shared this picture of road blocks being set up in DC. There has been no sign of trouble yet but tensions may soon be running high. 

2020, all about voting early...

Over 100 million voters have cast their ballots before today and four states hit more than 100% of their 2016 total turnout in early voting: Hawaii, Texas, Montana and Washington.

But not in New Hampshire, with just 24% of the 2016 total in early. 

Battleground state Pennsylvania is at 40% of the 2016 total coming in early... (That's massively up from 2016 when it just THREE PER CENT of the total was from early voting). 

The move to early voting is one of the effects of the coronavirus, and don't expect it to reverse in future elections.

Police officers on patrol outside the Denver Elections Division building

Officers on horseback stand by in Denver, Colorado with Joe Biden expected to pick up the state's nine Electoral College votes. Hillary Clinton won in Colorado by five percentage points in 2016 and Biden's lead in pre-election polls is even greater. 

Election Day queues not a problem in Chicago

It sounds pretty blustery in the windy city but there are worse places to be stuck in-line on polling day. CBS Chicago reporter Marissa Para took this video of the atmosphere outside a vote centre with musical accompaniment and snacks. 

Democrat advisor suggests Texas could be turning blue

Sawyer Hackett, senior advisor to Democratic candidate Julian Castro, has reported signs of a massive turnout in Texas which could help Joe Biden to flip a state that had previously looked determinely Republican. Generally speaking, a wider turnout makes an upset more likely. 

The Lone Star State has voted for a Republican candidate in all of the last ten elections but signs suggest that it could be in play this year. Biden even made a trip there over the weekend, a real show of confidence for a Democratic candidate in the final days of campaigning. 

Team Trump files emergency motion to stop processing Clark County postal votes

Distrust of mail-in ballots has been a reoccuring theme from the President's campaign and it seems like there's a final flourish planned for Election Day. Team Trump have filed an emergency motion, in partnership with the Nevada GOP, to cease counting certain mail-in votes in Clark County, Nevada due to concerns about "a phase of processing particularly susceptible to fraud through ballot manipulation". 

On Monday a Nevada judge dismissed a similar appeal from the campaign to halt pre-election counting of postal votes because they could not observe all aspects of the vote-counting process. On denying their request, Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson said:

"There is no evidence that any vote that should lawfully be counted has or will not be counted."

Presidential Election

US Election 2020: USMNT encourages people to vote

Score a goal for democracy

The USMNT released their roster for an upcoming friendly against Wales, and used the occasion to encourage people to get out and vote. 

Waiting time is just 2 minutes in Georgia vote centres

Gabriel Sterling, Voting System Implementation Manager for the state of Georgia, praised his staff for the smooth running of their Election Day. Sterling told CNN News: 

“This is succeeding our expectations given the situations we saw in June.  We have hit all of our marks, the counties have done an amazing job. The State has worked hard with them to make sure that they have the resources they need."

Instagram glitch declares "tomorrow" as Election Day

The social media giant admitted on Twitter that, despite removing the "Tomorrow is Election Day" notice on Monday night, some users will still have recieved the alert if their app was cached. They say they have now sorted it, and users will be free of any Election Day/Groundhog Day scenarios. 

US Election 2020

What percentage of the popular vote did Trump and Clinton get in 2016 election?

Could Trump win without the popular vote again?

America's Electoral College system means that the candidate with the most individual votes does not neccessarily land the White House. In 2016 Hillary Clinton actually picked up more votes but a series of narrow state wins for Donald Trump was enough to win him a majority of the Electoral College. 

Here's what happened four years again, and the likelihood of it happening again...

Markets surge on Election Day

The President's son Eric Trump has taken to Twitter to remark on the Dow Jones surging by over 500 points today as Americans go the polls. The Trump campaign has constantly looked to paint the President as a businessman who will get the US' struggling economy going again. This dramatic movement in the markets may not point to a likely victor this evening, but perhaps reflects hope that a period of uncertainty is coming to an end. 

In recent weeks Trump, the Republican-held Senate and the Democrat-held House have failed to come to an agreement on a new covid-19 economic stimulus package. If a new bill can be passed it would certainly help to take the strain off the businesses and individuals hit hardest by the pandemic.

Four North Carolina precincts have voting deadline extended

The North Carolina State Board of Elections have announced that four of the state's precincts will have their poll closing times pushed back after they opened late this morning. The extension applies to individual precincts in Cabarrus and Guilford counties and two in Sampson County, with centers able to stay up for between 17 and 45 minutes longer than originally planned. Full details on the new times are available here. 

In 2016 Donald Trump won the state by 3.66% but Joe Biden is ahead in most recent polls. 

Elections 2020

Nostradamus predictions for 2020 USA elections: who will win?

A prediction from 1566?

As usual for major events, Nostradamus is being wheeled out to see if any of his prophesies could fit tonight's election. There is one four-lined poem that's being talked up as calling tonight's race in favour of Trump... we take a light-hearted look:

Highly competitive swing states will decide the election

Anyone staying up for the results in the 2020 presidential elections should keep their eyes on a few key states that could well decide who occupies the White House for the next four years. The margins in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are expected to be so tight that it may be impossible to call the race on Election Night. 

Usually it is clear who the winner will be before all the votes have been counted and the losing candidate concedes early, as Hillary Clinton did in 2016. But with so many opting to utilise postal voting this election (a more time-consuming ballot to count) that may not happen this time around. 

LeBron James part of major effort to make 13,000 Florida felons able to vote

Basketball star LeBron James, business Michael Bloomberg and a number of other celebrities are doing their bit this Election Day by paying off outstanding court fees and fines to make Floridians eligible to vote, according to this report in ProRepulica.

Across the state of Florida around $27 million was raised to cover the fees owed by almost 13,000 residents. Although only a tiny proportion of the electorate, this could make a difference in a swing state that Donald Trump narrowly won in 2016. The President won by just over 100,000 votes four years ago to pick up the state's 29 Electoral College votes. 

Trump visits campaign headquarters in Virgina 

The President made a stop at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia to thank his staff for their work and make some Election Day predictions. 

According to POLITICO, he told his team he is “not thinking about [a] concession speech or acceptance speech yet.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be only doing one of those two,” he continued. “And, you know, winning is easy. Losing is never easy. Not for me, it’s not.”

Washington braces itself for post-election unrest

Shops and businesses in Washington DC are preparing for the Election Day fallout by boarding up their windows and doors. Similar scenes have been reported at the White House where additional security fences have been erected to prevent any issues once a result is returned. 

Such preparations have been ongoing for a while now and last week students at nearby George Washington University were sent emails advising: “We suggest preparing for the Election Day period as you would for a hurricane or a snowstorm.” 

Former Trump lawyer reveals Biden vote

Michael Cohen is best known as Donald Trump's personal attorney from 2006 to 2018, but the now-disbarred former lawyer has turned on his old boss on Election Day. Cohen was also vice-president of the Trump Organization for a time and was described by media as Trump's "fixer".

He was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations in relation to the President's 2016 election victory but has clearly switched sides, tagging his post-election selfie #Disloyal. 

Kayleigh McEnany predicts "landslide" Trump victory

The White House press secretary spoke to Fox News this morning to predict a comfortable victory for the President. She said that not only will Donald Trump emerge victorious in competitive states like Florida and Ohio, but also in Nevada and Minnesota where Joe Biden has a solid lead in recent polls. 

McEnany said: “We believe this will be a landslide and for the Biden campaign to come out and double down on Hillary Clinton's egregious statement that no circumstance should you concede just tells you all you need to know,"

NBC report that voters in Pennsylvania are growing tired of long queues

The northern swing state and birthplace of Joe Biden could have a crucial say in deciding the 2020 presidential election but NBC News are reporting that some voters are being put off by the long queues are are simply heading home. 

With Republicans more likely to turn out on Election Day than their Democrat counterparts (who are more likely to utilise early vote) this news could hurt Donald Trump's chances of re-election. Election regulations state that anyone in a queue when the polls close this evening is still entitled to vote, so if you stay in line you will definitely be able to cast your vote!

Trump campaign sets up White House "war room"

Maggie Haberman, the New York Times' White House correspondent, has revealed that the Donald Trump's re-election team have set up camp in the White House today to keep the President abreast of the day's events. 

She goes on to say that the campaign has said that they will be funding their use of the taxpayer-funded space, but it's not entirely clear how that will be done.

Election officials ready themselves for the final day of voting

Vote center workers in Kentucky prepare for the final wave of voters in the 2020 presidential election with over 97 million Americans having already cast their votes. The Kentucky Yum! Center is usually used for university basketball but plays host to a whole other ball game today. 

USPS inspectors to be sent to battleground states to ensure no mail-votes are missed

A last-minute ruling by Judge Emmet Sullivan will see US Postal Service inspectors sent to key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida to: “sweep the facilities between 12:30 PM EST and 3:00 PM EST to ensure that no ballots have been held up and that any identified ballots are immediately sent out for delivery.”

The ruling is the resolution of a case brought by the NAACP in Augustcalling for measures to be intorduced to ensure that voters are not disenfranchised because the Postal Service is overwhelmed by the expected volume of mail-in ballots. 

Pro-democracy message on show in Virginia

For all the talk of rising polarisation in politics ahead of the 2020 presidential election, one voter in Arlington, Virginia is proud to put his faith in the ballot box. The homemade t-shirt was seen on an anonymous voter as Americans go to the polls today, a stark contrast to a Tweet from President Trump a day earlier. 

On Monday evening Trump tweeted: “The Supreme Court decision on voting in Pennsylvania is a very dangerous one. It will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets."

Stay safe when voting today

A record 97 million Americans cast their votes before Election Day this year but for many today is the day when they will make their voices heard. If you are going to vote in person today then bare in mind these easy steps to keep yourself and those around you safe. 

TODAY spoke to Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, a pulmonary and critical care physician at the Cleveland Clinic, about how to reduce the risk this Election Day. Vote centres will have specific covid-19 safety measures in place but you can do your bit by making sure to observe social distancing, wearing a face shield in addition to your mask and being sure to wash your hands thoroughly. 

“We don’t need to win any of these four big swing states [Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), Florida (29), Texas (38)] to get to 270 electoral votes."

Florida Senator predicts record GOP turnout

If President Trump is to secure another four years in the White House he may well need two things to go his way:

1. A large Election Day in-person turnout amongst traditional Republican supporters

2. A victory in Florida, the most lucrative of the swing states with 29 Electoral College votes

Republican Senator for Florida Marco Rubio believes that those things could be happening today as GOP supporters turn out in force to ensure that Trump can retain the Sunshine State. In general, Democrat voters are more likely to utilise early or mail-in voting than their Republican counterparts, so the Election Day turnout will be crucial to Trump's hope of re-election. 

Biden makes his mark in home town of Scranton

The Democratic nominee grew up in the working class town of Scraton, Pennsylvania and has been back there on Election Day to continue a little tradition of his. He returned to his childhood home to write: “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-2020” on the living room wall.

As Axios reporter Alexi Hammond points out, he did the same thing in a different room in 2008 while Barack Obama's running mate. Biden will hope that his 2020 doodling proves just as prescient. 

Reports of attempted voter suppression in Flint

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said on Twitter that she has received numerous reports of Flint residents being targetted with incorrect information discouraging them from voting today. The calls falsely suggest that people can vote tomorrow instead, thus missing their chance to have their say in the 2020 presidential election. 

Unfortunately this is not the first attempt to target American democracy during the campaign, with foreign powers believed to have interfered already. In October FBI director Christopher Wray and John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence, revealed that Iran was behind a series of threatening emails sent to discourage voters in Florida, Pennsylvania and Arizona. 

Jewish headstones vandalised with pro-Trump message

CNN report that numerous headstones at a Jewish cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were vandalised with "MAGA" and "TRUMP", the Grand Rapids Police Department said Tuesday.

The desecration was found at the Ahavas Israel Cemetery just hours before President Donald Trump held a rally Monday night in Grand Rapids.

Top pollster predicts 20m more votes compared to 2016

Editor-in-Chief of FiveThirtyEight Nate Silver has revealed that their estimate of final total votes cast this US election will be 158 million.

Silver also warned not to expect any reliable information until this evening. "You're not going to learn anything useful about the election outcome on here until 7pm, i.e. when they start counting votes."

Kamala Harris: "we cannot afford four more years of Trump"

Joe Biden's Democratic running mate posts emotive speech to supporters today.

QAnon supporters block roads across the USA

Believers in the conspiracy theory QAnon have backed multiple “Trump train” barricades of roads around the country, including an incident involving a Joe Biden campaign bus in Texas, according to new analysis.

At least 18 of the listed event organisers in 14 states have openly supported QAnon on social media, HuffPost found. 

Across the country, caravans of Donald Trump supporters have taken over highways, bridges and city streets in recent days in aggressive displays of support for the president. 

One convoy drove through Marin City, California, the only part of Marin County where white residents are in the minority, and shouted racial epithets at children.

Another in Fort Worth cruised through a polling station in a predominantly Black neighborhood, provoking an altercation with residents.

In Temecula, California, a caravan blocked access to a voting center.

A group in New York shut down the Mario Cuomo bridge.

In Louisville, Kentucky, a “Trump Train” member directed traffic with a gun at a high school.

And in Texas, near Austin, trucks adorned with “make America great again” flags swarmed a Joe Biden campaign bus in an incident that is now under FBI investigation.

Who are QAnon?

Wonder if she had to wait in line?

First Lady to incumbent Donald Trump voted on Election Day in Florida.

The president moved their official residence to Florida from New York in 2019.

The Clintons vote Biden / Harris

Unsurprisingly, Hillary and her husband, formerpresident Bill have voted Democrat.

Sage advice from California congressman

Vote, be patient. And the election isn’t over until every vote is counted.

US Election 2020

What's the difference between a popular vote and Electoral College?

Electoral College vs. popular vote

All the information you need to know about America's voting system this Election Day.

US ELECTIONS 2020

Elections 2020: today is the election, when is the deadline to register to vote?

Haven't registered to vote yet?

If you aren’t registered but live in a state with same day registration you can still do your civic duty.

Read the full story:

Biden goes home to Scranton

The Democrat Joe Biden, hoping to win the presidency from the clutches of incumbent Donald Trump today, made a trip home to Scranton in Pennsylvania to meet voters.

Deutsche Bank: Trump is bad for business

Reuters' exclusive report states that Deutsche Bank AG is looking for ways to end its relationship with President Donald Trump after the U.S. elections, as it tires of the negative publicity stemming from the ties, according to three senior bank officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Deutsche Bank has about $340 million in loans outstanding to the Trump Organization, the president’s umbrella group that is currently overseen by his two sons. The three loans, which are against Trump properties and start coming due in two years, are current on payments and personally guaranteed by the president, according to two bank officials.

In meetings in recent months, a Deutsche Bank management committee that oversees reputational and other risks for the lender in the Americas region has discussed ways in which it could rid the bank of these last vestiges of the relationship, two of the three bank officials said. The bank has over the years lent Trump more than $2 billion, one of the officials said.

Beyonce urges Texans to flip the state blue

Posting a boomerang on instagram of herself wearing a Biden Harris face mask and the caption "Come thru, Texas! #VOTE", Queen Bea is one of many high profile celebrities pleading that fans vote for Democrat Joe Biden in today's election.

Wear a mask, thank your poll workers, and make your voice heard.

While we're on the subject....

If you're planning to register and vote today in these states, make sure you take ID and proof of address and call 866-OUR-VOTE to check where you can register, it may not be your nearest polling place.

Not registered to vote? It may not be too late!

Check HERE if your state allows same day voter registration.

Then GO AND VOTE.

21 states and the District of Columbia have enacted same-day registration provisions enabling voters to register and vote at the same time.

In those states that permit same-day registration, voters must generally provide proof of residency (e.g., utility bill, pay stub) and identity (e.g., driver's license) at the time of registration.

US ELECTION 2020

US election 2020: what's the electoral college, which states have most electors?

What is the electoral college and which states have most electors?

As Donald Trump and Joe Biden vie for the USpresidency today, they know that it is electoral votes, rather than the popular vote, that will decide who wins the race for the White House.

US ELECTIONS 2020

What is a 'contingent election' and what happens if the Biden-Trump vote ends in a tie?

'Contingent election' demystified

The people vote for their next president today, 3 November, but what happens if after all the millions of votes are counted it's a dead heat?

$1 million on Biden to win, please

A Betfair account has bet £1m on Joe Biden beating Donald Trump to win the American presidency - the biggest single bet of US election 2020.

Yesterday, Biden 1.52 lead Trump 2.88 in the betting and most polls.

Betfair Spokesman Sam Rosbottom said: "The (£1m) bet is the biggest political bet of all time on the Betfair Exchange and returns a handsome £1,540,000 if Biden wins the keys to the White House.

Possible clue to Yeezy policies in Twitter flurry

On election eve, Kanye West, who is on the ballot in 12 states, tweeted that he was keen to cure hunger. An election promise?

Biden visits deceased son's grave, Trump campaign slings mud

Trump's National Press Secretary made a cringeworthy faux-pas this morning, tweeting a slur about Joe Biden as press were reporting that Biden had visited the grave of his deceased son, Beau on the morning of the election.

Franklin, Ohio  experiencing technical issues

Officials have resorted to using backup paper system to check voters in this morning, leading to delay predictions, say Fox News.

President Bartlet weighs in at the eleventh hour

A message of hope on this momentous day from the West Wing actor Martin Sheen.

US ELECTIONS 2020

US Election 2020: how many people have voted so far compared to 2016

How many people have voted so far compared to 2016?

Due to the covid-19 pandemic record numbers of Americans had cast their ballots before Election Day.

Woman on her way to vote struck by car and killed in Missouri 

St Louis Police say that the woman was walking to the Affton White-Rodgers Community Center in Affton, near St. Louis, shortly after 6 a.m. when she was hit.

She was pronounced dead in a nearby hospital. The driver of the car that hit her is co-operating with police.

Twitching for election day trivia?

Lewis Goodall at the BBC is tweeting historical US election quiz questions to distract from the present-day nerves.

Anxious about election night?

How about doodling along toclassical music to calm your nerves...NPR are holding a "Democracy Doodle".

Sunrise at the White House this morning

The sun came up this morning over Washington on what has already been an extraordinary election.

US Election 2020

USA Election 2020: TV, times, how to watch the results online

How and where to watch election night coverage

Don't miss a moment of action; here are our top TV and live streaming options.

Trump tweets VOTE! to queer anthem

Incumbent president Trump, who is currently still trailing Joe Biden in national and state polls, tweeted this morning a call to vote to his supporters alongside a video-montage of the Republican dancing along to the iconic LGBTQ celebration song "YMCA". 

Stay in line after polls close and other key advice for the polls

If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask for another one, and if you forget your ID, don't worry, youcan still vote. If you experience voter intimidation, report it to polling officials.

Via AP

Rapper Common sends Americans message of peace and joy

It's not bad advice today. Breathe and release negative thoughts.

2020 has seen unprecedented suffering internationally; the coronavirus pandemic, global race riots and unprecedented unrest. The election has further divided ideologies in the US.

Lines already around the block at East Coast polling stations

As voting begins in the eastern states, early lines point to potentially highest voter turnout in modern history.

US ELECTIONS 2020

US Elections 2020: who is on the ballot besides Trump and Biden?

Who else is on the ballot aside from Biden and Trump?

There are also some crucial races on for seats in the Senate today, which could leave Democrats with control, no matter who commander-in-chief is.

Democrats already hold control of the lower house, and it's highly unlikely that will change.

Campaigning still going strong

All over the country, campaigners for both candidates are working to boost turnout and make sure everyone's voice gets heard.

US Election 2020

Kanye West election 2020 campaign: ads, policies and more

Nope, it wasn't just dream, Yeezy's on the ballot

Kanye West really is on the ballot in 12 states. He can't mathematically win the presidency, so why has he done it?

Vote responsibly. A vote for Kanye West is essentially wasted, no matter where you live. 

US Election 2020

USA Election 2020: what does an official ballot look like?

Headed to the polls today?

Prepare for the big moment by checking what's on your ballot.

Twitter and Facebook will put labels on false victory claims starting tonight through January

Reuters report that social media companies Twitter and Facebook on Monday outlined plans for placing warning labels on posts from U.S. election candidates and campaigns that claim victory in advance of official results.

The moves come as social network platforms brace for what has been an unusual election cycle due to a high number of mail-in ballots that may cause a delay in final results.

Beginning on election night through the inauguration, Twitter said it would place warning labels such as “official sources called this election differently”, or “official sources may not have called the race when this was tweeted”.

Final pleas from Biden camp

Democratic challenger to president Trump Joe Biden tweeted this morning imploring voters to go to the polls.

Lady Gaga tears into sexual predator Trump at Biden Rally

The singer showed up in support for Joe Biden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania yesterday. 

Gaga warned the crowds "now is your chance to vote against Donald Trump, a man who believes his fame gives him the right to grab one of your daughters or sisters or mothers or wives by any part of their bodies” she added "Vote like your life depends on, or vote like your children’s lives depend on it, because they do". She also called Biden a "good person".

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend also showed support for the Democratic candidate.

"We simply will not tolerate it"

Pennsylvania's Attorney General Josh Shapiro tells MSNBC that voter intimidation today at the poll will not be tolerated by law enforcement.

Donald Trump has been calling for his supporters to go poll watching in Philadelphia, a key battleground state.

Texas early drive-through votes will be counted, in blow to GOP

Yesterday afternoon a federal judge in Texas on Monday denied a bid by Republicans to throw out about 127,000 votes already cast in the U.S. presidential election at drive-through voting sites in Houston, aDemocratic-leaning area.

The plaintiffs had accused Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins, a Democrat, of acting illegally when he allowed drive-through voting as an alternative during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a written order, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen said the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the case and waited too long to sue.

“To disenfranchise over 120,000 voters who voted as instructed the day before the scheduled election does not serve the public interest,” the judge wrote, adding that drive-through early voting was permissible under Texas law.

US election 2020: a divided country

The emotion around this election is showing Americans just how divided the country has become, even within families.

95 million early ballots already cast on eve of Election Day

More than 95 million Americans had cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election by Monday, according to a tally by the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida, a harbinger of what is expected to be the highest turnout of modern times.

Just a day before Election Day, the record-breaking number is equal to 69% of the entire voter turnout for the 2016 election.

A sharp increase in mail-in and early in-person voting was largely prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 230,000 people in the United States and continues unabated in many U.S. states.

President Donald Trump, his administration criticised for its handling of the covid-19 outbreak, trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden in national opinion polls. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken on October 27-29 shows Biden ahead, 51% to 43%.

But the race is still a toss-up in battleground states that decide the election through the Electoral College, including Arizona, Florida and North Carolina.

Report by Reuters.

Pimpin' the wrong guy

At a Trump rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan last night, Donald Trump introduced rapper Lil Pump as "Little Pimp."

All eyes on Arizona tonight?

Mail-in ballot counting timelines vary wildly state too state, but Arizona may be a good barometer tonight, as mail-in ballots have been counted there since 20 October.

2020 US ELECTION

What time do polls open and close on US Election Day 2020?

What time do the polls open and close?

Election Day is upon us, so be sure to know what time your polling site is open.

Full lowdown:

Midnight voting in NH as Biden takes tiny Dixville Notch

Tom Tillotson drops voters ballots into the ballot box at the Hale House at the historic Balsams Resort during midnight voting as part of the first ballots cast in the presidential election in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.

Voters in Dixville Notch, a village of 12 residents in the US state of New Hampshire, kicked off Election Day at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday by voting unanimously for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

(Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP)

USA Election 2020

USA election 2020: where do I vote?

Where do I vote?

Here's the lowdown on where you need to go to vote and what documentation you need to take with you.

Full details:

Election Day 2020 live: welcome

Welcome to our live coverage of the 2020 US presidential election, as Republican incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic challenger go head to head for the White House.

As well as the presidency, also being contested today are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and gubernatorial elections in US states and territories.

Ahead of Election Day, just under 100m Americans had already cast their ballot through early voting, according to the US Elections Project - that's more than two-thirds of the total votes counted when Trump beat Hillary Clinton to the presidency in 2016.