With the results in six states—Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona, Alaska and Nevada—yet to be declared, the US presidential elections remains on knife's edge. In crucial battleground states, Democratic challenger Joe Biden is wielding a healthy lead over President Donald Trump, who is finding the possibility of a victory reducing by the day. To reach the magic figure of 270 to claim victory, Trump must win all four remaining battleground states: Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada.
On Thursday, Trump asserted that he has won the election. He complained of “tremendous corruption and fraud in the mail-in ballots", reported BBC. "If you count the legal votes, I easily win the election. If you count the illegal and late votes, they can steal the election from us," Trump said. Trump has been claiming fraudulent elections, which had resulted in protests across the country from the supporters of the president.
Biden, in a address, urged Americans to stay calm and wait patiently while every vote is being counted. "In America, the vote is sacred. It's how the people of this nation express their will. And it is the will of the voters, no one and not anything else that chooses the president of the United States. So, each ballot must be counted and that's what is going on now. And that's how it should be," Biden said in Delaware on Thursday. "Democracy is sometimes messy, so sometimes it requires a little patience. But that patience has been rewarded now for more than 240 years with a system of governance that has been the envy of the world. We continue to feel very good about where things stand," he said.
How is the race poised?
As per projections made by major media outlets, Biden has 264 electoral college votes, just six votes short of the magical number of 270 out of 538 required to win the presidency. However, for news outlets like CNN, Biden has 253 electoral college votes as it has still not called Arizona, which has 11 votes and counting of votes continued.
Trump is projected to get 214 electoral college votes, which is 56 votes less than the magical figure of 270. Races in some of the key battleground states have not been called yet. These states are Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.
In Pennsylvania, which has 20 electoral college votes, Trump is leading by 1,35,671 votes with 91 per cent of the votes being counted. Over the past one day, his lead has reduced considerably.
In North Carolina, which has 15 electoral college votes, the president has a lead of 77,337 votes with 95 per cent of the votes being counted so far.
Trump's lead has reduced considerably in Georgia over the last 24 hours. The state has 16 electoral college votes. After an overnight round of counting, Trump's lead over Biden has come down to just 18,586 votes. Officials have said that they have completed counting of 96 per cent of the votes.
In Arizona, which has 11 electoral college votes, Biden continues to lead by over 68,000 votes with 86 per cent of the total votes being counted. A traditional Republican state, Trump has been fast catching up with Biden in the last few rounds of counting, but he has a long way to go.
In Nevada, that has six electoral college votes, Biden is leading by nearly 8,000 votes with 86 per cent of the counting reportedly over. Nevada is a traditional Democratic state, but the race has entered a tight finish.
To reach the magical figure of 270, Trump needs to win Pennsylvania (20), North Carolina (15) and Georgia (16) and either of Arizona (11) or Nevada (six), which appears to be a tall order.
For Biden, the path seems to be much easier. He needs to win any of these states, with Arizona. A win in Pennsylvania would seal the deal for him, even if Trump manages to win rest of the states including Arizona.
