US Election Day 2020: Trump and Biden results | 5 November

"I'm not certain I'm the majority leader yet. As you all may have noticed, that will be determined in Georgia,"

Biden to give speech tonight

The Democratic candidate for President will give a speech at 'prime time' Friday evening as he looks to be closing in on the White House. Little is known about what he will speak about but with his campaign on the brink of a decisive victory in Pennsylvania, it appears likely that he will be looking to claim victory. 

Trump has repeatedly refused to acknowledge that he is on the verge of defeat having lost a number of key states, so we'll have to keep an eye on his comments too. 

Bomb scare at Philadelphia counting center

State security officials received two calls from the same individual regarding a bomb threat to the main counting center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Police dog handlers have swept the center and determined that the threat was a false alarm. 

Two armed men arrested approaching Philadelphia convention center

MSNBC are reporting that two men have been apprehended by police as they travelled from Virginia in a Hummer, carrying hand guns and home-assembled AR-15s. 

Philadelphia's ongoing vote count has turned the course of the Pennsylvania election away from Donald Trump, who called the city one of the most corrupt in the US during his speech last night. It is thought that the two men were arrested for violating rules about bringing weapons across state borders. 

Republican National Committee seeking to raise at least $60 million for Trump's legal challenges

Reuters is reporting that the Republican National Committee will seek to raise upwards of $60 million for Trump's challenges to the presidential election. 

Trump has launched lawsuits in several states as the president continues to claim without evidence that the elections have been fraudulent. 

Latest figures from Pennsylvania

Joe Biden continues to stretch his lead in Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump previously enjoyed a margin of 500,000 votes. Biden now leads the state by 13,629 votes. Trump needs to win Pennsylvania just to remain in the race. If Biden wins, the race is over...

US ELECTIONS

US presidential election 2020 results: what Trump and Biden need to win?

US presidential election 2020 results: what Trump and Biden need to win

The US election race is not over yet and there are still several permutations possible. However, the majority of them are in favour of Joe Biden. Trump needs Pennsylvannia, whatever happens...

Trump vows to keep fighting, and press ahead with legal challenges

US President Donald Trump on Friday vowed to continue his legal fight, as his Democratic rival Joe Biden edged closer to securing enough votes to win the presidency and was expected to give a prime-time televised address Friday night.

"We will pursue this process through every aspect of the law to guarantee that the American people have confidence in our government. I will never give up fighting for you and our nation," Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

Trump closes Biden's lead slightly in Arizona

Donald Trump continues to close Biden's lead in Arizona, with the president shrinking the margin slightly following the latest batch of ballot results. Biden's lead in the state is now at 41,302.

Trump lawsuits "entirely without merit", says Bush's 2000 recount lawyer 

Barry Richard, who served as a lead attorney for George Bush during the 2000 recount in Florida, has said that Trump's current lawsuits lack any real evidence and will not change the outcome of the election. 

"I think the lawsuits filed so far are entirely without merit,” Barry wrote in an email addressed to CNBC. 

Here's a recap of the situation in the four key states in play:

Georgia: Biden winning by 1,553

Pennsylvania: Biden winning by 13,220

Nevada: Biden winning by 20,137

Arizona: Biden winning by 43,779

Biden preparing victory speech

Biden and Harris will give a prime time address this evening, as previously reported.

Reports are now coming that say that the Democratic candidate is preparing a victory speech in anticipation that he could be confirmed the winner by the time he makes his address this evening. 

White House officials starting to "quietly back away from Trump"

Citing sources close to the White House, CNN is reporting "that some senior officials inside the White House and the campaign are beginning to quietly back away from Trump, in acts of self-preservation, as the returns in Pennsylvania and Georgia indicate the President will not win reelection."

"'It's over," one key adviser to the administration told CNN, before adding there are concerns about what Trump will do. "God. Who knows," was the source's response when asked what the President might do next. 

Trump's latest tweet...

The tweets are coming thick and fast from the frustrated president, who is now asking about alleged "missing" military ballots in Georgia, where Joe Biden overtook his lead earlier today. Though with Biden's margin at a mere 1,500 votes, military ballots could be decisive in the state. 

Biden and Harris to give address this evening

Biden and Harris will reportedly give a prime time address this evening, as the Democratic candidate closes in on a win.

Philadelphia mayor doesn't hold back

In a press conference this afternoon, Jim Kenney exclaimed "I think what the President needs to do is, frankly, put his big boy pants on" and accept the result of the election. 

The Winds of Change

The WP has put together this insightful graphic to show "how political shifts and changes in turnout from 2016 have affected the 2020 election".

Philadelphia mayor makes announcement this afternoon

Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney said,

“While some including the president continue to spew baseless claims of fraud — claims for which his team has not produced one iota of evidence — what we see in Philadelphia is democracy, pure and simple.”

Asked if he believed Biden would be elected president when all the ballots were counted, Kenney said, “Yes.”

Donald Trump claims Georgia has "missing military ballots"

FACT CHECK: 

Yesterday morning Georgia's election officials revealed that they were unclear on the number of "provisional ballots" that still needed to be counted.

They are not missing.

Sterling also noted that ballots cast before Election Day by military voters and citizens living overseas and received by 5 p.m. Friday will be tallied.

“There are absentee ballots from our overseas military voters that if they are postmarked by Tuesday have to be accepted by Friday. There are provisional ballots that need to be verified by Friday, and if you have an absentee ballot with an issue like missing a signature or something, you have until Friday to cure those.”

Boris Johnson says he is confident in US election checks and balances

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he had confidence in the US election process, after US President Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims of fraud following Tuesday's presidential vote. "I have every confidence in the checks and balances of the American Constitution," Johnson told broadcasters on Friday.

He declined to comment on what a US administration led by former vice president Joe Biden would mean for Britain. "If I were a voter in America I don't think I'd want anybody in another government commenting on my election," Johnson said. 'I think while the votes are being counted we should we should wait and see.'

Republican Senator Mitt Romney speaks out against Trump

Prompting critics to say he's being too soft, Romney released a statement on Twitter claiming that requesting recounts are within the president's rights but that Trump -  

"is wrong to say that the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen - doing so damages the cause of freedom here and around the world, weakens the institutions that lie at the foundation of the Republic, and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions."

If you needed reminding of the absurdity...

Channel 4 reporter Matt Frei drops a truth bomb.

Twitter tells Trump (prematurely) "You're fired"

As Joe Biden seems to be nearing the finish line to be the next president, though nothing is yet official, the topic "YOU'RE FIRED" is trending on Twitter with more than 70k tweets.

"You're fired" was Donald Trump's catchphrase when he was the host of The Apprentice TV show in the 2000's.

Media giant calls on Republicans to speak out against Trump

"It’s not too late to end up on the right side of history." writes New York Times' Jennifer Senior.

"President Trump tried to delegitimize the 2020 election. This attempt may have been shuddersome, disgraceful and dangerous. But there’s one thing it was not: a surprise.

On the contrary. It was tediously predictable, exactly what you’d expect of a man who has spent four years lumbering through Washington, crushing custom after custom and norm after norm."

Jimmy Kimmel joins in mocking Trump reaction

As Joe Biden expands his lead in several crucial states, with many states about to close their first counts and Trump remains adamant that there is election fraud going on in spite of no supporting evidence, the world turns to jokes.

Kimmel said of Trump's litany of lies speech last night that "he should have been arrested...if they could have found handcuffs small enough to take him away, they would have.”

Stacey Abrams Georgia's hero

After campaigning hard to invigorate the electorate in the Peach State, Abrams is coming in for floods of recognition today. 

Georgia's count is ending practically a tie between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, with Biden in a whisper-thin lead. A recount has already been confirmed by election officials. 

Biden expands lead in Pennsylvania and Nevada

In Pennsylvania, Biden’s lead now stands at 9,027 votes, which is expected to grow as more results come in from Philadelphia.

The Democratic nominee’s lead in Nevada has also increased to 22,076, or 1.7% of the total.

The AP has not yet called Pennsylvania or Nevada, and we are still waiting on more uncounted ballots in both states.

Via Guardian

Trump team clinging on to narrative of voter fraud

In a memo-cum-rant signed Matt Morgan, Trump general counsel repeats baseless claims of ballots "improperly harvested" in Georgia, "irregularities" in Pennsylvania,"improperly cast" ballots in Nevada and that Trump is going to win Arizona "outright" and that Biden makes a "phony claim on the White House".

Peaceful message from Trump senior advisor

While stubborn Trump digs his heels in, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow tells CNBC that there will be a peaceful transfer of power for the presidency. That's nice of him.

Larry Kudlow currently serves as the President's senior advisor on economic affairs. 

Maricopa County releasing new numbers

At 11 a.m. Eastern time we’re expecting more results from Maricopa County (Phoenix), where the majority of Arizona’s uncounted votes remain.

Biden is currently in the lead in Arizona by 43,779 votes.

Via NYT

Clinton honours John Lewis of Georgia

The congressman for Georgia's 5th district passed away in July this year, and was a towering figure of the Civil Rights era.

A recount has been confirmed by Georgia's election officials, as the first count has nearly ended in effectively a tie with Biden in the lead by under 2,000 votes.

If Democrats win the state, it will be the first time a since 1992 the state votes against Republicans.

Twitter tells Trump it's over. Stand back and stand down.

Journalist Gary Younge references Trump's failure to denounce the far right violent group the Proud Boys, in the chaotic first live presidential debate with Joe Biden. Trump days later did condemn the group.

BREAKING

“There will be a recount in Georgia” 

According to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state just now, there will be a recount in the state.

As of now, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by just 1,579 votes in Georgia, representing a virtual tie with 98% of votes reported.

“The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting trespassers out of the White House.” - if Biden wins and Trump refuses to concede

Trump attacks Philadelphia "election integrity"

Having seen Joe Biden overtake him in Pennsylvania thanks to mail-in votes counted in Philadelphia County, Donald Trump has continued to spread baseless claims over electoral fraud. 

"Philadelpiha [sic] has got a rotten history on election integrity," Trump tweeted - a quote seemingly attributed to Fox's Stuart Varney.

Fox News won't call Biden 'president-elect'

Conservative outlet Fox News has reportedly told its journalists not to refer to Joe Biden as the ‘president-elect’ after it calls the presidential race for the Democratic challenger.

According to CNN, Fox has told its anchors to use a phrase like Biden has "enough electoral votes to win the presidency".

Biden stretches lead over Trump in PA

Joe Biden's lead over Donald Trump has increased in Pennsylvania, with the Democratic presidential candidate now 6,737 votes up on the Republican incumbent. 

"Dramatic and potentially decisive"

CNN journalist John King has described Joe Biden’s move into the lead in Pennsylvania as “dramatic and potentially decisive”, saying: “We cannot understate this moment”

“The president cannot win reelection without Pennsylvania and without Georgia,” King said. “Overnight, Georgia flipped blue. Seconds ago, Pennsylvania flipped to the blue. We cannot understate this moment. 

"It's not over, still counting votes, but Joe Biden is now in the lead in Pennsylvania, in the lead in Georgia, in the lead in Nevada, in the lead in Arizona.”

CNN are among the media outlets who have not yet called Arizona for Biden.

Decision Desk HQ calls PA for Biden

The media outlet Decision Desk HQ has called Pennsylvania for Biden - and, with it, victory for the Democratic presidential candidate. We'll have to wait for the official call from AP though.

Biden takes the lead in Pennsylvania

Joe Biden has moved into the lead in Pennsylvania in the wake of the latest vote count update in the Keystone State.

Having been 18,000 votes behind Trump at the previous count, the Democratic challenger now leads the incumbent president by 5,587.

A reminder that victory in Pennsylvania, where there are 20 electoral votes up for grabs, would give Biden victory in the race for the White House even if he lost all other as yet uncalled states, and even if Arizona - which AP has called for Biden - ended up going to Trump instead.

Some media organisations say the vote in Arizona is still too close to call.

Biden now has 3,295,319 votes in Pennsylvania (49.5%), while Trump has 3,289,725 (49.4%).

McConnell: "Every legal vote should be counted"

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has offered his first public comment on Donald Trump’s claims that the election is being stolen from him by the counting of “illegal votes”.

“Here’s how this must work in our great country: Every legal vote should be counted,” McConnell tweeted. 

“Any illegally-submitted ballots must not. All sides must get to observe the process. And the courts are here to apply the laws & resolve disputes. 

“That's how Americans' votes decide the result.”

McConnell’s remarks could be seen as the Kentucky senator showing some support for Trump’s allegations, although it should be noted that he does not explicitly say that he thinks fraud is actually happening.

Chris Christie tells Trump: "Show us the evidence"

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says Donald Trump needs to "show us the evidence" as the president continues to claim that the 2020 election is being undermined by electoral fraud.

"So if this stuff is going on that the president's talking about, all of us want it ferreted out, because it would undercut everything that we believe in in our system," Christie told ABC News on Thursday.

"But as a prosecutor, that's like asking me to indict someone without showing me any evidence.

"If you're gonna say those things from behind the podium at the White House - it's his right to do it, it's his right to pursue legal action, but show us the evidence.

"We heard nothing today about any evidence."

Philadelphia count update imminent, says city commissioner

Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt has told CNN that an update on the vote count is expected shortly. “We have been counting for the past several hours. And I expect you'll see another update in the next hour or two,” Schmidt said at about 6:15 ET.

“The counting in Philadelphia has continued uninterrupted from the beginning,” he added. “We had a brief pause yesterday for about two hours as a result of some litigation, but it's just critically important that we continue counting every eligible vote cast by voters in Philadelphia.”

“We got about 360,000 total mail-in ballots in Philadelphia. We've counted about a little over 306,000 […] and [are] at 50,000 some yet to report.”

(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP)

US ELECTION 2020

US Election 2020: how many votes left to count in Pennsylvania & when will they finish?

How many votes are left to count in Pennsylvania and when will they finish?

Donald Trump still leads in Pennsylvania, but with absentee ballots favouring Democratic challenger Joe Biden, the president's advantage is shrinking.

Full story:

Former PA governor slams Trump over "baseless, bogus" claims

Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, has hit out at President Donald Trump over his claims that “illegal votes” are being used to "steal the election" from him.

"My stomach’s been churning since the president’s remarks last night, churning with both disgust and anger," Ridge told Don Lemon on CNN.

"[It’s] a baseless, bogus, unsubstantiated claim. It’s disrespecting everyone involved with this process.

Ridge added: "Mr President: there’s been a delay post [Election Day on] 3 November not because there’s fraud, but because there’s a pandemic."

He also said: "Mr President, you don’t call the election, the networks don’t call the election; the people call the election and then the states certify it."

'America is more than a one-man show' - German foreign minister on US vote

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Friday urged both sides in the U.S. election to show restraint until the results were available, adding it was irresponsible to aggravate tensions.

"America is more than a one-man show. Anyone who continues to pour oil on the fire in a situation like this is acting irresponsibly," Maas told Germany's Funke media in unusually blunt language.

"Now is the time to keep a cool head until an independently determined result is available," he added in some of his first comments on the situation.

Katy Perry adds her voice to #CountEveryVote drive

The California singer and five-time American Music Award winner added her weight to the #CountEveryVote initiative with a message on Twitter to her more than 108 million followers.

Stacey Abrams credited for Biden takeover in Georgia

As Biden slopes into a slim lead in the state, social media are praising former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams  for the potential Democratic victory there.

Politico say iff there is one person who is both most responsible for Georgia’s emergence as a competitive state, and most likely to benefit from a Democratic victory here, it is Stacey Abrams. The 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s near miss — she lost by 1.4 points — made Georgia the new North Carolina: a recently red Southern state undergoing dramatic demographic change that has made it competitive for the foreseeable future.

Stocks, currencies eye best week in 5 months as Biden edges closer to victory

Emerging market stocks and currencies were set for their best weekly gains in five months on Friday, as Democratic candidate Joe Biden inched close to winning a tight US election that has also weakened bets for a major US fiscal stimulus.

MSCI's index for emerging market stocks has risen 6% so far this week, while currencies are up 1.3%, driven by Asian and other markets seen as benefiting from the potential departure of Donald Trump from the White House.

Mexico's peso, sensitive to Trump's drive to keep jobs in the United States and impose more tariffs on trade, has gained 2% this week while China's yuan has seen its best performance in a month, gaining more than 1%.

US ELECTION

US Election 2020: when will North Carolina report final results?

When will North Carolina report final results?

The outcome of the U.S. presidential election still hangs in the balance as five swing states continued to count their ballots.

Trump's poisonous outpouring deconstructed

Says Stephen Colbert of "A Late Show". His moving speech in which he says "I didn't know it would hurt so much" and that Trump, a "fascist" was casting "a shadow on our most sacred right" has gone viral on Twitter.

The host implored "every single person" to do "something unpredictable" and "reject what he just did" including all Republicans, he specifically laid into newly reelected Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell for his complicit silence.

CNN Anderson Cooper takes swing at Trump the "obese turtle"

Cooper, live on CNN compared the Donald Trump to an "obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun, realising his time is over,"

On the subject of the president's team providing no evidence to support lawsuits filed for alleged election fraud, he added "he just hasn’t accepted it and he wants to take everybody down with him, including this country."

People immediately chimed in on Twitter claiming that fat turtles were offended at being compared to Donald Trump.

Others have condemned the comments as being "fat shaming".

Pornhub makes an appearance on CNN

Waiting does get dull.

Biden takes the lead in Georgia

A comeback from 18,000 votes down Thursday morning, just now Biden swept into the lead in the Peach State.

The Democrat is now up by 917 votes.

US Elections

US Elections 2020: When did Trump start his election fraud narrative over the 2020 vote?

When did this circus actually begin?

Donald Trump gave a dangerous speech at the White House this evening where he again angrily railed about the counting of legally cast votes, but when did his attempted takedown of legitimate democratic processes all start?

Trump is starting to lose ground in key battleground states, putting Joe Biden as the current favourite to win the US presidency.

Social media cancels Steve Bannon for glorifying violence

After the Trump supporter and media executive called for Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray to be beheaded, Thursday morning.

The comments were made in a video posted to his Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter accounts, in a livestream of Bannon's "War Room: Pandemic" online show.

The video was live on Bannon's Facebook page for about 10 hours Thursday and had been viewed almost 200,000 times before Facebook removed it, citing its violence and incitement policies.

YouTube removed the video for violating its policy against "inciting violence."Twitter said it had permanently suspended the account of Bannon's "War Room" podcast for glorifying violence.

Via CNN

Trump bashes social media following warnings, interventions

"Twitter is out of control, made possible through the government gift of Section 230!"

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was passed in 1996, says an “interactive computer service” can’t be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content. This protects websites from lawsuits if a user posts something illegal, although there are exceptions for copyright violations, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law.

Facebook, Twitter purge violent rhetoric as tensions rise over election

Facebook Inc stepped in on Thursday to remove a fast-growing group in which supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump posted violent rhetoric, as it and other companies tackled baseless claims and potential violence after a contentious election.

The “Stop the Steal” group, which called for “boots on the ground to protect the integrity of the vote,” was adding 1,000 new members every 10 seconds and had grown to 365,000 members in a day.

“The group was organised around the delegitimisation of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members,” a Facebook spokeswoman said.

Group backers said they were organising peaceful protests, had been working hard to police the comments and that Facebook had given no warning. Chris Barron, a spokesman for the group, said political opponents were also organising protests but were not banned.

Trump loses legal fights in Georgia and Michigan

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

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

State judges tossed out both lawsuits on Thursday.

James Bass, a SuperiorCourt judge in b, said there was “no evidence” that the ballots in question were invalid.

Major counties like Philadelphia will keep counting through the night.

Georgia: Democrats urged to fix rejected ballots

Democrats are urging voters in Georgia to fix absentee ballots that were rejected because of invalid or missing signatures before the deadline on Friday evening. 

Via NYT

Trump lead wafer-thin in Georgia

As ballot counting continues in the Peach State, the Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger maintains that officials are "focused on getting it right."

Biden is chasing Trump's tail in the state, at the latest count (2:30am ET) the Republican's lead was just 665 votes.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez keeping it calm

Makes a nice change to see a tweet about something other than the undemocratic aftermath of Election Day instigated by president Donald Trump.

Greta Thunberg: Trump should 'chill' about the election

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg hit back at Donald Trump on Twitter late on Thursday saying the U.S. president should 'chill' about the election, a repost to his tweet last year mocking the teenager over what he called her anger management issues.

Commenting on Trump tweeting "STOP THE COUNT!" on Thursday, as the election race in the United States went to the wire, 17-year-old Thunberg tweeted: "So ridiculous. Donald must work on his Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Donald, Chill!"

The tweet has been liked 1.2 million times so far and re-tweeted 266,000 times.

Which states are still to announce final results?

In the presidential election race, as of 2 a.m. Eastern, we did not yet know who won Alaska (3 electoral votes), Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15) or Pennsylvania (20).

US Postal Service says 1,700 ballots found in Pennsylvania facilities

The US Postal Service (USPS) said about 1,700 ballots had been identified in Pennsylvania at processing facilities during two sweeps Thursday and were being delivered to election officials.

In a court filing early Friday, USPS said 1,076 ballots, had been found at the USPS Philadelphia Processing and Distribution Center. About 300 were found at the Pittsburgh processing center, 266 at a Lehigh Valley facility and others found at other Pennsylvania processing centers.

Ballots must be received by Friday evening in Pennsylvania in order to be counted. The vote for the U.S. president remains extremely close and Pennsylvania is one of the states that remains undecided.

Philadelphia police probe alleged plot to attack vote counting venue​​​

Philadelphia police said on Friday they are investigating an alleged plot to attack the city's Pennsylvania Convention Center, where votes from the hotly contested presidential election are being counted.

Local police received a tip about a Hummer with armed people driving up from Virginia with plans to attack the convention center, a police representative said.

Police took at least one man into custody and seized a weapon as well as the Hummer about which they had received a tip. No injuries were reported and no further details about the alleged plot were disclosed.

Twitter suspend Trump supporter Steve Bannon

The social media giant has suspended Bannon's Twitter account after he called for two federal officials to be beheaded.

Georgia election official gives update on the vote count delay

Donald Trump's margin is now less that 2,000 votes, so every vote counted is absolutely crucial. Speaking earlier today, a Georgia election official said: "The issue we have in Georga is that it's a close vote, there's other states that have more votes than we do but because there's a wide margin no one cares"

US Election 2020

US election results: which states are still counting votes?

We're closing in on a result in the 2020 presidential election, but which states are still counting votes?

Trump has filed lawsuits to stop the count but the vote counting continues in five states that are still yet to be called.

More suggestions of a Trump 2024 candidacy

Donald Trump's former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said that he “absolutely” expects the President to run again in four years' time if he loses the 2020 election. 

Speaking the the Irish Times, Mulvaney said: “I would absolutely expect the President to stay involved in politics and would absolutely put him on the shortlist of people who are likely to run in 2024,”

Donald Trump's lead cut again in Georgia

The margin is down to less than 2,500 in Georgia as Joe Biden looks to flip another Republican stronghold. After six consecutive votes for Republican candidates, could the Peach State be turning Democrat in 2020?

Former Republican presidential candidate calls for "faith in our democracy"

Republican Mitt Romney ran against Barack Obama in 2012 and knows what it's like to lose an election, and called for patience as the votes are counted. Donald Trump has petulently claimed electoral fraud in a number of states but Romney has distanced himself from the accusations. 

No 'big-name' Republicans have come out in support of Trump's claims and it appears that most are willing to wait it out, and accept the result of the eleciton. 

Trump supporters gather to protest in Arizona 

Following the Presiden's unfounded accusations of vote fraud, his supporters are protesting outside Maricopa County Election Department as the vote counting continues for a third day. One Trump fan in Phoenix, Arizona wears a t-shirt saying: "Never apologise for being right"

88% of the estimated vote has so far been counted with a win for Joe Biden called by Fox News on Election Night. Of the votes counted so far, Trump has received 48.3% of the vote and Biden has 50.3%

Another update from Pennsylvania vote count

Joe Biden's home town state was a major target for the Democrats going into the election and they are narrow the gap further. It's probably unlikely that this one gets called tonight however, with the narrow margin and large number of outstanding votes meaning it will probably take another day. 

At least Trump's bid to pause the count was unsuccessful, or it could have been weeks...

Trump suffers third lawsuit loss in Pennsylvania

It is becoming increasingly clear that the President is relying on litigation to snatch the 2020 election but he has just been handed a hat trick of defeats from three different states. After being denied in Michigan and Georgia earlier today, Pennsylvania has also refused to stop vote counting as it draws close to a final result. 

As of 8pm ET, 94% of the vote in Pennsylvania has been counted, with Donald Trump 63,725 votes ahead but the margin is narrowing fast. 

Wisconsin election chief slams Trump accusations

After Joe Biden managed to flip Wisconsin for the Democrats the Trump campaign has demanded a recount, despite a losing margin over over 20,000. He has also filed lawsuits in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia and made baseless accusations of vote fraud. 

In response Meagan Woolfe said that there was "no opportunity to count a vote that did not go through an incredibly rigorous process"

US Elections

US Elections 2020: When did Trump start his election fraud narrative over the 2020 vote?

When did Trump start his election fraud narrative over the 2020 vote?

We all know what Donald Trump said in his dishonest White House speech tonight, but the roots of these baseless accusations go back further...

Video of McCain concession provides stark contrast to Trump

Twelve years ago Joe Biden won a place in the White House, as running mate to Barack Obama in his 2008 presidential victory. The defeated Republican candidate John McCain gave a speech conceding the election, calling on Americans to come together and publically congratulating the Democratic candidate.

With this in mind maybe it is no surprise that no major figures in the Republican Party have spoken in defence of Trump as he continues to dig in his heels. Earlier today Eric Trump tweeted the GOP to demand their support, but the President's increasingly desperate displays suggest that none will be forthcoming. 

President Trump nears the exit

Fox News dismisses Trump's fraud accusations

The President's news source of choice for the last four years is deserting him as they question his claims of electoral fraud. The two have had a pretty sympatic relationship during the course of his presidency with Trump praising their output, which in turn praises him. 

But after calling Arizona for Biden on Election night, Fox News have split from the President and now seem to represent one of the final nails in his political coffin.

Anderson Cooper gives his thoughts on Trump speech

"Flailing" - that's the word, a perfect description from CNN's Anderson Cooper. 

The strench of desperation is becoming pretty repugnant now as the President mounts a final baseless defence of his election defeat. The 'obese turtle' image is pretty strong, too. 

Trump speech widely disproved

The President's address to the American people was strewd with deliberate falsehoods, claiming at one point that the'corrupt' state of Philadelphia had refused access to poll observers. 

CBS News' David Becker made clear that Trump was lying. 

Silence of elected Republican officials

It's notable no elected Republican officials are backing Trump's claims. While some are saying certain things need to be scrutinised, none are backing the line that the Dems, backed by big media, big money and big tech have "stolen the election". 

Fact-checking Donald Trump's speech

We won't be fact-checking that outrageous statement from Trump at the White House, because it was almost entirely non-factual and incendiary. If we were to spend time combing through it we'd be better off truth-checking it, sifting through what he said in a bid to find anything that was actually true. 

Donald Trump's lead cut in Georgia

The President's ridiculous White House speech will be getting the attention but should not distract from a tightening race in Georgia. With less than 1% of the votes still to be counted Trump's lead is down to under 4,000 votes. It would be a great victory for Biden if he can succeed there and would essentially seal the presidency for the Democrats. 

Trump gives his "most dishonest speech" 

After four years in office the bar is staggeringly high but the President may have just given his least honest speech ever. He rattled off a series of demonstrably false statements, from accusations of fruad to claiming states that he is currently losing. 

Donald Trump has pointed the blame at everything and everyone and his days in the White House appear to be numbered, if this desperate showing is anything to go by. 

CNN: "Trump complains about mail-in votes being counted". Couldn't put it better.

BREAKING: Picture tells a thousands words

"We grew our party by 4 million voters, the largest turnout in Republican Party history... The Democrats are the party of big business, big money and big tech"

President Trump gives White House speech full of falsehoods

In an ongoing speech Trump has repeatedly lied, made false accusations and generally looked to mislead the American public and stoke up mistrust in the political system. TV channels broadcasting this are cutting away to make clear that this is largely untrue. 

It's like a stream of consciousness version of his twitter feed from recent days: paranoia and lies. 

"There's tremendous litigation going on, they are trying to steal an election, they are trying to rig an election. Philadelphia and Detroit are known as two of the most corrupt places in the country, they can not be allowed to manufacture the result of this election."

"We won a [legal] case, a big case and have others happening... There is an enormous amount of litigation happening generally, and I predicted that happening... They wait and see how many votes they need, and then they go and find them"

"The had me losing Florida by a lot and I ended up winning by a lot.. They knew that, they knew that - suppression"

"The pollsters got it knowingly wrong, knowingly wrong... They got it wrong for vote suppression reasons"

WATCH: President Trump speaks live from the White House

Donald Trump is set to speak live in the coming minutes

We'll be providing live updates of the President's address to the American people as he makes his first public appearance since Election Night.

Stand by for more...

US ELECTIONS 2020

US elections: how likely is Trump to win his voting law suits?

How likely is Trump to win his voting law suits?

With the race for the presidency still too close to call, but with Joe Biden looking favourite, it seems the courts may have a big say in the final decison. The President says he's filing lawsuits to stop the vote count in Nevada and Pennsylvania, and he is demanding a recount in Wisconsin, where he's lost by around 1%. 

Team Trump claims Pennsylvania via email

Ahead of the President's speech from the White House, an email from his campaign appears to have claimed a victory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. The running is certainly close in PA but it seems strange that he can confidently claim a win here with his margin believed to be tightening. 

In the last hour CNN have reported that the President's lead in Pennsylvania just shrank from 90,000 to 78,000, with 326,000 still outstanding. We'll have to see what he says in his upcoming address but it seems that he is going to reassert his claim Election Night claim to have won the presidency. 

Nearly 40% of Trump's post-election tweets flagged as "misleading"

Donald Trump to give speech in around 30 minutes

The President will make his first public appearance since his Election Night speech from the White House where he bizarrely claimed victory, despite being behind at the time. It comes after his opponent Joe Biden gave a speech from Delaware this evening in which he said he is confident of victory, but urged Americans to have patience and let the vote counters do their job. 

Trump has been active on Twitter in recent days, accusing the Democrats of stealing the election and demanding electoral officials "STOP THE COUNT". NBC have been reporting that the President has been kept away from the cameras since Election Night with Trump said to be taking the emerging defeat quite badly. 

His aides will hope he's got it out of his system after days of all-caps tweeting, but he's expected to be in a pretty abrasive mood when he takes to the stage tonight

Trump currently ahead in remaining states but Biden closing fast

The latest vote count data from the outstanding states puts the President ahead in four states as it stands. However many of the votes still to be counted are mail-in ballots which are more often used by Democrats than Republicans. With the margins narrowing quickly the Biden campaign are said to be confident of overtaking Trump's total in a couple of states. 

In Biden's hometown of Pennsylvania he stands a good chance of taking the state, and he only needs a roughly 60/40 split of the outstanding votes in Georgia to win there too. 

'Count On Us' rally asks candidates not to claim victory yet

Protesters gathered at the Michigan State Capitol building in response to the President's calls to stop counting in a number of key states. Donald Trump has filed lawsuits to attempt to halt ballot count in Nevada and Pennsylvania.

The demonstrators are demanding that neither candidate makes any claims on the presidency until the final count has been done. For context, in 2016 the result was not finalised until around a month after the election.

Georgia still in play for Trump and Biden with two percent of votes remaining

The traditionally Republican state could be flipping for the Democrats this election as voting draws to a close in a fascinating race. The President looked to be in a strong position at the beginning of the count but Biden has now cut his lead to less than 10,000 votes. 

Georgia doesn't expect to return a final count until tomorrow. Fulton County (Atlanta) has nearly finished their count with just the suburbs still unaccounted for at this stage. 

"Huge differences" to Florida 2000 vote recount

James Baker, the former secretary of state under George W. Bush, has given his thoughts on comparison between the lawsuits brought by Trump's team and the disputed 2000 election. 

According to The New York Times, the Trump administration says it wants a “James Baker-like” figure lead their legal battles. However the man who helped secure the win for Bush in 2000 has drawn a pretty big distinction. 

“We never said don’t count the votes,” said Mr. Baker. “That’s a very hard decision to defend in a democracy.”

US ELECTIONS

US presidential election 2020 results: what Trump and Biden need to win?

US presidential election 2020 results: what do Trump and Biden need to win?

The US election race is not over yet and there are still several permutations possible. However, the majority of them are in favour of Joe Biden. Trump needs Pennsylvania, whatever happens.

Greta Thunberg mocks the President's "anger management problem"

The climate change activist was attacked by Donald Trump on Twitter last year, telling her to "chill out" with her criticism of his climate change denial. In recent days it's been the President's temperature that has been rising and Greta Thunberg has got her own back, copying Trump's initial tweet and sending it back to him. 

Revenge is sweet. 

2020 US ELECTION

US Election 2020: how many people have voted so far compared to all elections before?

How many people have voted in this election compared to all elections before?

Across the US there has been record turnout in the 2020 presidential election but in the past more eligible voters cast ballots than generally do today.

Legal appeal to suspend Donald Trump's Twitter account

Kristen Clarke, President of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, has called on Twitter to temporarily remove the President's account. During the course of the election many of Trum's tweets have been flagged by the site as "misleading" and prevented his supporters from sharing the misinformation. 

Trump and his team have made baseless accusations of voter fruad, shared disproven articles and videos and looked to stoke up tensions amongst his support. In response to his tactics, Clarke said: "The flags placed on these posts do not go far enough."

President's son points finger at Republican party

The relationship between Donald Trump and the GOP has always been an uneasy one and it appears likely to unravel as the Trump campaign doubles down on fraud claims. Eric Trump has just tweeted to demand the Republican party throw their weight behind his father's cause as they look to fight the election outcome in the courts. 

Notably, the party has not echoed Team Trump's claims of electoral fraud, something that has clealy annoyed Eric Trump. He suggests that Trump voters may not stick with the party in future elections if the GOP don't speak up now. The Republicans' unwillingness to do so speaks volumes about their thoughts of Trump's chances of winning this election. 

Joe Biden attends covid-19 and economic briefings

Today the Democratic candidate has been in some important meetings as part of the presidential hand-over process. In a speech in recent minutes he made reference to the coronavirus response and economic measures discussed in the talks. 

It should be said, this is not arrogance on Biden's part but a neccessary part of the procedure. Candidates for presidency have to attend a number of such briefings and form their own 'transition team' months before the election. 

CNN made a contrast between the candidates today as Donald Trump has rarely been seen in public since election night, instead staying in the White House and tweeting. Biden by contrast has addressed the American people multiple times. 

Joe Biden give speech in Delaware

Joe Biden to give statement in Delaware shortly

The Democratic candidate has been slowly edging toward the magic 270 today as we get more details about vote counts in the remaining states. Based on the states currently called by AP, he is on 264 Electoral College votes meaning he only requires another six to win the White House. 

Will he look to claim the presidency? It seems unlikely given the measure tone he's struck since Election Night. On Twitter he said: "Be patient, folks. Votes are being counted, and we feel good about where we are."

Why are votes counted in this way?

Much of the confusion during the aftermath of the election has come from the process of vote-counting, which often counts them by 'type' i.e in-person, postal, absentee, etc.

As Nate Silver, Editor-in-Chief at polling analysts FiveThirtyEight, points out it has given the reporting an unusual trajectory. In many states mail-in votes can't be counted until the polls closed so there is a delay in counting them because they also have to go through a series of checks. 

As Silver notes, the swing from Republican to Democrat that this appears to have produced in places like Pennsylvania has been one of the defining features of this chaotic election. 

Trump's Secretary of Defence Mark Esper readies his resignation

According to NBC, the President's Defence Secretary may tender his resignation after publicly opposing Trump's use of the Insurrection Act of 1807 which allowed him to deploy active-duty troops in American cities. 

Esper said: "The Guard is best suited for performing domestic support to civil authorities ... I say this not only as Secretary of Defense, but also as a former soldier, and a former member of the National Guard.

"The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act."

Three military officials has confirmed that Esper has written his resignation letter, but it seems unlikely that he will make a decision until after the dust has settled on the election. 

Over 50,000 votes to be counted today in Nevada

Nevada is one of six states yet to be called for either Trump or Biden and counting has continued into a third day. Clark County, one of the state's largest, has announced that they plan to release updated vote tallies tomorrow morning with an additional 51,000 votes included. 

Nevada offers six Electoral College votes which would be enough to win win Biden the presidency, assuming that the Democrats win Arizona and Trump's lawsuits do not affect any other already called results. 

Mail-in vote counting finishes in Georgia's largest county

With 16 Electoral College votes on offer President Trump needs to win in Georgia if he is to retain the White House and we may be closing in on a final count.

Postal votes are often the latest ones to be counted and it appears wer're close to a result in Fulton County. The latest vote count puts Trump's lead at around 13,000 votes. 

Donald Trump statement: "I EASILY WIN THE ELECTION"

In an email press release the President has again baselessly claimed victory in the 2020 presidential election, blaming "illegal and late votes" for the upswing in votes for Joe Biden. 

For weeks commentators have predicted that the delays with mail-in vote counting in some states mean that they will be counted last, and tend to favour the Democrats.

The President is either unable or unwilling to accept that pretty basic fact, and Trump's announcement today is another desperate attempt to discredit the final result. 

Fox News decision desk sticks with Biden - Arizona call

CNN reporter Oliver Darcy reveals he has been in touch with presidential debate moderator Chris Wallace and the decision desk at Fox News, explaining that they are convinced that Arizona has been flipped by the Democrats. 

It was not expected to be available for Joe Biden in this election but it appears that Donald Trump's remarks about Arizona-born John McCain has turned voters there against him. Team Trump are adament that the race is still on there, however, with a final count not yet returned. 

Fed chair Powell speaks

While many Americans are caught up in the ongoing election frenzy, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell brought some attention back to the current economic downturn in the US, which he called the "most severe of our lifetimes". 

Powell also called for “continued support from both monetary and fiscal policy" in confronting the unprecendented crisis. It will be interesting to see how those types of policies will change under a possible Biden presidency. 

Trump could run again in 2024

Trump may be on the verge of losing the election and a second term in office. But reports are that he could very well run again in 2024 if that happens. 

As reported by The Guardian, Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s former acting chief of staff and current US special envoy for Northern Ireland, said he expects the president to run in 2024 should he lose to Joe Biden this time round. 

“I would absolutely expect the president to stay involved in politics and would absolutely put him on the shortlist of people who are likely to run in 2024,” Mulvaney said during a webinar hosted by an Irish think tank.

CNN reports that the president has also discussed running in 2024 with some of his aides. 

US ELECTION 2020

Senate US Election 2020 results: what senate races are still undecided?

The race for the senate

The race for control of the Senate is going down to the wire, with Democrats hoping to secure the upper chamber of Congress to add to the House of Representatives. AS' Calum Roche has more...

Protests growing in support of Trump

As Trump's anger countinues to escalate, so too has social unrest, with pro-Trump prostests spreading across the country, echoing the president's calls to halt the counting process...

Facebook removes Pro-Trump group calling for ‘Boots On The Ground’ and echoing voting fraud claims

(Via NPR): Facebook has removed a group which has been spreading false claims and conspiracy theories about voter fraud. The group had gained more than 360,000 members since it was set up on Wednesday.

“The group was organized around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group,” said Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone.

He added that the social network made the decision "in line with the exceptional measures that we are taking during this period of heightened tension” because the group “was creating real-world events.”

Biden's latest tweet

Joe Biden has once again reitirated that he will be a president for all Americans, soon after he called for patience as the remaining votes are being counted...

Trump's lead in Pennsylvania countinues to grow smaller

As the mail-in ballots continue to be counted in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden is eating further and further in Donald Trump's lead, which at one point yesterday was as high as 500,000.

The president's margin is now at 114,000 with Biden's campaign confident that the state will eventually turn blue once all the votes are in. 

US ELECTION

US Election 2020: members chosen for the Senate so far

Who's been elected to Senate thus far?

Democrats and Republicans are neck and neck in the race to win control of the Senate, with 31 of the 35 seats being contested now decided.

Read the full story:

We could know the outcome in Pennsylvania today...

That's according to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, speaking to CNN. Up to now Boockvar had said that the overwhelming majority would be counted by Friday, but that's looking like it could be today now. 

"I think we definitely could know" the result today, she confirmed. 

Remember there are 580,000 votes still to be counted, in the major population centres. 

BREAKING 

Trump campaign lose court fight to halt Michigan vote

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign in hopes of halting vote-counting in Michigan.

Michigan Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens made the ruling during a court hearing on Thursday. She said she planned to issue a written ruling on Friday.

Via Reuters

Trump’s lead shrinks in Pennsylvania

There are are still 580,000 votes to count in Pennsylvania and that count is going on through today. In Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, they have counted all of the votes, but there are 35,000 ballots that need to be looked at and that’s not happening until tomorrow. These are ballots that have been noted as possibly irregular (lack of signature, or date, badly marked etc) and may require fixing or additional requirements to be fulfilled.

Pennsylvania stands at...

Biden: 48.5% (3,113,877)

Trump:50.3% (3,228,946)

...with Trump’sleaddwindling as the count goes on, which makes sense as the Democrats urged their voters to vote early to avoid coronavirus risks, but those votes are only being counted now. Trump, of course, is claiming these ballots shouldn’t be counted, but these are perfectly legally cast ballots.

Biden’s lead in Nevada

Officials in Clark County have reported more voting numbers, with the result that Biden’s lead has increased to over 11,000, up from 7,647. 

The challenger has been in the lead, if narrowly, throughout the count. Trump had hoped to flip the state Hillary won by a thin margin in 2016, but it’s looking like the state may remain blue. That would give Biden another six electoral votes, which, under the AP’s calls for states would put him squarely on the 270 he needs to win the keys to the White House. 

Bidencurrently stands at 49.4% of the counted vote, with Trump on 48.5%

(Remember Nevada does have one of the best named counties in the entire US, Eureka County. Which, by the way, like the rest of rural Nevada is firmly Republican, with 88.4% voting for Trump and 9.8% going for Biden. There’s not many voters in Eureka County though - just 833 individuals voted for Trump, 92 for Biden).

Guineans on US election chaos: “such a mess is worthy of a banana republic”

For plenty of Africans, PresidentDonaldTrump’s actions in the aftermath of the U.S. election have been a cause for dark humor, but others have reacted with dismay or disbelief.

In countries whose own recent elections were marred by accusations of cheating and violence, some expressed alarm about the signal that Trump’s prematuredeclaration of victory, allegations of fraud and flurry of lawsuits might send to their own leaders.

“Trump is setting a bad example for Africa and a country like ours. You cannot proclaim yourself in an election where you are a candidate when justice exists,” said Mory Keïta, a car parts dealer in Guinea.

Dozens were killed in protests before and after the West African country’s president won a controversial third term last month.

“It’s a total disgrace,” said Bachir Diallo, a Guinean mining executive. “Such a mess is worthy of a banana republic.”

As the vote count pointed towards a victory for Democrat Joe Biden, others felt a sharp sense of irony seeing events play out in a developed nation whose authorities regularly admonish African leaders for not respecting democratic norms.

When the U.S. Embassy in Guinea’s neighbour Ivory Coast called on Wednesday for dialogue and commitment to the rule of law following another disputed presidential election, it triggered an avalanche of reactions.

“What we are seeing from Trump is not different from what we have been seeing in African politics. However, it is terrifying to see this in America,” said Tito Kisiya, a sales executive in Tanzania, whose presidential election last week drew criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Reporting by Reuters

"I'm going to fight like hell to protect the vote of every Pennsylvanian."

Says Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in the face of Trump lawsuit, calling it "disgraceful".

Trump re-emerges on Twitter after 14 hour hiatus...

...with more complaints about ballots being counted following the election; "STOP THE COUNT!"

The president Donald Trump is in a close battle with Democrat Joe Biden to retain the White House for four more years, and is currently mounting an incessant, divisive and frankly absurd campaign across the country to stop vote counting in some states, and recount in others.

Concern that POTUS' continued undemocraticrhetoric may incite further protests and possibly violence in the coming days are being voiced across the world.

Trump has also falsely claimed on Twitter today "Big win in Pennsylvania."

Newt Gingrich gets Twitter warning treatment

Brazenly parroting President Trump's recent and completely unfounded ramblings, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has has his latest post labelled by the social media network as "disputed" and maybe "misleading".

The world is with you, Amy

Author Amy Siskind perfectly sums up the mood as the world continues to wait nervously as the final crucial ballots are counted in the US election 2020.

Tense wait for election winner goes on; US records 102,831 new covid-19 cases Weds

Had it almost been forgotten that this US presidential election takes place in the midst of a pandemic?

No.

The US set a new record yesterday for the highest number of new daily cases recorded anywhere in the world.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, yesterday the US recorded 102,831 new cases of coronavirus, and saw 1,097 new covid deaths.

The New York Times reports that 23 states have recorded more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch.

Five states; Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota and Nebraska, all set new single-day case records yesterday.

Deaths related to the coronavirus, say the NYT, have increased 21 percent across the country in the last two weeks.

The Associated Press report that the surge was most pronounced in the Midwest and Southwest.

The Guardian predicts that hospital officials in Iowa and Missouri warned bed capacity could soon be overwhelmed.

The current death toll in the US from covid-19 is 233,565.

Trump protester storms Vegas ballot counting conference

Clark County public information officer Dan Kulin steps in front of a protester as he interrupts a news conference to discuss ballot counting by Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria at the Clark County Election Department on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are in a tight race in the battleground state after Tuesday's election.

Photo: REUTERS

Another minute, another TRUMP TWEET

This time, he's claiming (falsely) that:

"ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!"

Fact Check: a number of states, including Pennsylvania, allow ballots to arrive for days after election day as long as the ballots are postmarked by election day.

Twitter's warning system has done the honours on this one.

Pennsylvania AG hits out a Trump lawsuit to "stop the count"

Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro criticised Donald Trump’s campaign for suing to halt vote-counting in the pivotal swing state.

“I’m not going to let anyone stop that process of counting,” Shapiro told MSNBC. “These are legal votes. They will be counted.”

Shapiro accused the president of trying to draw election officials into a political battle, when the focus should be on counting the remaining ballots.

“The rhetoric needs to go away,” Shapiro said. “The campaign is over.”

Via Guardian

UNITED STATES

Who is Sarah McBride, the first transgender state senator in the US?

The first transgender woman has been elected to state government

Who is Sarah McBride of Delaware?