U.S. vote count edges Biden closer to win as Trump mounts legal challenges

[snoop1130]

U.S. vote count edges Biden closer to win as Trump mounts legal challenges

By Andy Sullivan

 

Counter-protesters, organized by Make the Road Action Nevada and PLAN Action, chant during a "Stop the Steal" protest by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump at the Clark County Election Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Joe Biden moved closer to victory in the U.S. presidential race on Thursday as election officials tallied votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome and protesters took to the streets.

 

President Donald Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence, filed lawsuits and called for recounts in a race yet to be decided more two days after polls closed.

 

With tensions rising, about 200 of Trump's supporters, some armed with rifles and handguns, gathered outside an election office in Phoenix, Arizona, following unsubstantiated rumors that votes were not being counted.

 

In Detroit, officials blocked about 30 people, mostly Republicans, from entering a vote-counting facility amid unfounded claims that the vote count in Michigan was fraudulent.

 

Anti-Trump protesters in other cities demanded that vote counting continue. Police arrested 11 people and seized weapons in Portland, Oregon after reports of rioting, while arrests were also made in New York, Denver and Minneapolis. Over 100 events are planned across the country between Wednesday and Saturday.

 

The presidential race was coming down to close contests in five states. Biden held narrow leads in Nevada and Arizona while Trump was watching his slim advantage fade in must-win states Pennsylvania and Georgia as mail-in and absentee votes were being counted. Trump clung to a narrow lead in North Carolina as well, another must-win for him.

 

Trump had to win the states where he was still ahead plus either Arizona or Nevada to triumph and avoid becoming the first incumbent U.S. president to lose a re-election bid since fellow Republican George H.W. Bush in 1992.

 

Edison Research gave Biden a 243 to 213 lead over Trump in Electoral College votes, which are largely based on a state's population. Other networks said Biden had won Wisconsin, which would give him another 10 votes. To win, a candidate needs 270 votes.

 

Biden, 77, predicted victory on Wednesday and launched a website to begin the transition to a Democratic-controlled White House in January.

 

Trump, 74, has long sought to undermine the credibility of the voting process if he lost. Since Tuesday's Election Day, he has falsely declared victory, accused Democrats of trying to steal the election without evidence and vowed to fight states in court.

 

U.S. election experts say fraud is rare.

 

Trump's campaign fought to keep his chances alive with a call for a Wisconsin recount - which he would be entitled to given the slim margin there - as well as lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to stop vote counting. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in charge of elections, called the Trump team's lawsuit "frivolous."

 

Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia to require that Chatham County, which includes the city of Savannah, separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted.

 

It also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow Trump to join a pending lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania Republicans over whether the battleground state should be permitted to accept late-arriving ballots.

 

The maneuvers amounted to a broad effort to contest the results of an election that is still undecided two days after tens of millions of Americans went to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic that has upended daily life.

 

"They are finding Biden votes all over the place - in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. So bad for our Country!" Trump posted on Twitter.

 

Biden said every vote must be counted. "No one's going to take our democracy away from us, not now, not ever," he said.

 

THE PANDEMIC EFFECT

 

If victorious, Biden will face a tough battle to govern, with Republicans appearing poised to keep control of the U.S. Senate and likely block large parts of his legislative agenda, including expanding healthcare and fighting climate change.

 

U.S. stock index futures jumped on Thursday as investors were optimistic that a potential gridlock in Washington could reduce the chance of major policy changes, although concerns remained about the risk of a contested election.

 

The contentious aftermath capped a vitriolic campaign that unfolded amid a pandemic that has killed more than 233,000 people in the United States and left millions more jobless. The country has grappled also with months of unrest involving protests over racism and police brutality.

 

The United States set a one-day record for new coronavirus cases on Wednesday with at least 102,591 new infections, and hospitals in several states reported a rising tide of patients, according to a Reuters tally.

 

Supporters of both candidates expressed anger, frustration and fear with little clarity on when the election would be resolved.

 

In the nationwide popular vote, Biden was comfortably ahead of Trump on Wednesday, with 3.6 million more votes. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 after winning crucial battleground states even though she drew about 3 million more votes nationwide.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-05

 

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[YetAnother]

5 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

President Donald Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence, filed lawsuits and called for recounts

very presidential, a complete fool

[Lacessit]

Trump is desperate, he knows what's coming if he loses. No immunity from prosecution, creditors calling debt in. No income to service said debt from holding government functions in his house of cards.

His latest gambit is to inflame his supporters and stop votes from being counted. The saddest part is, they are too dumb to realize they are being used to subvert the very democracy they so passionately proclaim.

[Sujo]

Keep counting.

Stop counting.

 

He is such a goose.

[RichardColeman]

Good luck to our American friends paying their rent soon

 

[Opl]

18 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Keep counting.

Stop counting.

 

He is such a goose.

 

Fair and square: 

" keep counting" where Trump is losing

"stop counting" where Trump is winning

Trump already won because Trump said so 

 

[chickenslegs]

I'm not American, so maybe there's something about the counting that I don't understand.

Many states have been declared as Trump or Biden wins - before all the votes have been counted.

 

One example: Arizona declared as a win for Biden.

So far the vote count is Trump 1,400,000 and Biden 1,470,000 a lead of  just 70,000.

But, there are still almost 400,000 votes uncounted.

Surely this means that Trump could still win, theoretically.

What am I missing?

 

I'm taking these figures from the Guardian live update https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/nov/03/us-election-2020-live-results-donald-trump-joe-biden-who-won-presidential-republican-democrat

[Jingthing]

Just now, chickenslegs said:

I'm not American, so maybe there's something about the counting that I don't understand.

Many states have been declared as Trump or Biden wins - before all the votes have been counted.

 

One example: Arizona declared as a win for Biden.

So far the vote count is Trump 1,400,000 and Biden 1,470,000 a lead of  just 70,000.

But, there are still almost 400,000 votes uncounted.

Surely this means that Trump could still win, theoretically.

What am I missing?

 

I'm taking these figures from the Guardian live update https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/nov/03/us-election-2020-live-results-donald-trump-joe-biden-who-won-presidential-republican-democrat

Calling Arizona was a mistake. Most media haven't done that. You're entirely correct that the race in Arizona could still go either way.

 

But there are good reasons to call some races early. Like if 20 percent in the vote is in for Alabama and its 80 percent for a republican coming from the most liberal precincts in a state that always votes for republican presidents you could safely call it minutes after the polls closed.

But media calling races isn't official.

That only happens when each state officially certifies the results much later.

[Sujo]

36 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Good luck to our American friends paying their rent soon

 

Thats life under trump.

[Sujo]

7 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm not American, so maybe there's something about the counting that I don't understand.

Many states have been declared as Trump or Biden wins - before all the votes have been counted.

 

One example: Arizona declared as a win for Biden.

So far the vote count is Trump 1,400,000 and Biden 1,470,000 a lead of  just 70,000.

But, there are still almost 400,000 votes uncounted.

Surely this means that Trump could still win, theoretically.

What am I missing?

 

I'm taking these figures from the Guardian live update https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/nov/03/us-election-2020-live-results-donald-trump-joe-biden-who-won-presidential-republican-democrat

They are only called by media. No election is official a day after the election closes. Thats just a trumpster. Its official when each state says it is.

[mr mr]

remember remember the 5th of november !

[PattayaJames]

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

 

President Donald Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence, filed lawsuits and called for recounts in a race yet to be decided more two days after polls closed.

 

Well there is certainly suspicion. 

Evidence may come after investigation. 

[Lacessit]

10 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I'm not American, so maybe there's something about the counting that I don't understand.

Many states have been declared as Trump or Biden wins - before all the votes have been counted.

 

One example: Arizona declared as a win for Biden.

So far the vote count is Trump 1,400,000 and Biden 1,470,000 a lead of  just 70,000.

But, there are still almost 400,000 votes uncounted.

Surely this means that Trump could still win, theoretically.

What am I missing?

 

I'm taking these figures from the Guardian live update https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2020/nov/03/us-election-2020-live-results-donald-trump-joe-biden-who-won-presidential-republican-democrat

It depends on where the bulk of the remaining votes are coming from, and the demographic of the locations.

In Arizona, Trump has to win more than 270,000 of the remaining votes, against Biden's 130,000. In other words, he has to win 68% of the remaining vote, when Biden is winning 50.4% of the popular vote nationally.

IMO Mission Impossible, that's why the pundits are calling it that way.

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, YetAnother said:

very presidential, a complete fool

No, he'd be a fool if he didn't. He has a duty to nearly 70 million voters to ensure that vote counting is done correctly. The counting of postal votes was supposed to be closely observed by both parties, but they were only allowed to look from a distance. In Pennsylvania they came in with piles of mail ballots after midnight.

[welovesundaysatspace]

2 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

In Pennsylvania they came in with piles of mail ballots after midnight.

Good, so they can get counted. That’s what should happen with votes, no? 

[EVENKEEL]

3 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Good, so they can get counted. That’s what should happen with votes, no? 

If they were delivered with correct post mark, there are rules.

[FritsSikkink]

7 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

No, he'd be a fool if he didn't. He has a duty to nearly 70 million voters to ensure that vote counting is done correctly. The counting of postal votes was supposed to be closely observed by both parties, but they were only allowed to look from a distance. In Pennsylvania they came in with piles of mail ballots after midnight.

The army votes come in late.

[JensenZ]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

The army votes come in late.

Yes, I know, but these aren't army votes. They are piles of mail ballots coming in late in a state that is going slow on counting - a state that is a crucial swing state.

[JensenZ]

7 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Good, so they can get counted. That’s what should happen with votes, no? 

No, all ballots should all be there to count before the voting stops (at 7pm). It's a big mess and Trump is doing the right thing.

[FarFlungFalang]

34 minutes ago, mr mr said:

remember remember the 5th of november !

I know of no reason why it should ever be forgot!

[KhunFred]

1 hour ago, YetAnother said:

very presidential, a complete fool

Looking forward to seeing Donnie led off in handcuffs. The face of American politics is permanently changed.

[welovesundaysatspace]

3 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

No, all ballots should all be there to count before the voting stops (at 7pm).

No, according to the law they don’t have to be there before the voting stops. 
 

3 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

It's a big mess

No, they just have to get counted. Hardly a mess. 
 

3 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

and Trump is doing the right thing.

He’s trying every dirty trick as expected to steal the election and violate the people’s right to vote. If you find that “the right thing” be it. 

[welovesundaysatspace]

14 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

a state that is a crucial swing state.

Even more important that everyone’s vote gets counted. 

[Kelsall]

36 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

No, he'd be a fool if he didn't. He has a duty to nearly 70 million voters to ensure that vote counting is done correctly. The counting of postal votes was supposed to be closely observed by both parties, but they were only allowed to look from a distance. In Pennsylvania they came in with piles of mail ballots after midnight.

Yes, indeed.  Fortunately Trump is a fighter and is calling the Dems on their fraud.

[Chomper Higgot]

2 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

Yes, indeed.  Fortunately Trump is a fighter and is calling the Dems on their fraud.

Where’s the ‘Trump landslide’ you were confidently predicting a few days ago?

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, Surelynot said:

Go Joe....stick it to the orange buffoon.....Starmer's turn in 4 years.

With Labour currently at civil war with itself over comrade Corbyn ? More chance of their being two labour parties by 4 years - The Red Labour and The Progressive Labour. Both of which the good old UK public would throw out as they have done for past 15-20 years or so

 

 

 

[In the jungle]

I reckon it is going to take a wooden stake, a crucifix and garlic to finally get him out of the White House.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, RichardColeman said:

With Labour currently at civil war with itself over comrade Corbyn ? More chance of their being two labour parties by 4 years - The Red Labour and The Progressive Labour. Both of which the good old UK public would throw out as they have done for past 15-20 years or so

 

 

 

Can you at least try to keep your ‘self abusing’ fantasies to with the relevant continent, if not the relevant thread?!

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, In the jungle said:

I reckon it is going to take a wooden stake, a crucifix and garlic to finally get him out of the White House.

 

 

Trump will never accept defeat, even when he doesn’t get to choose the next USAG.

[Chomper Higgot]

39 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Yes, I know, but these aren't army votes. They are piles of mail ballots coming in late in a state that is going slow on counting - a state that is a crucial swing state.

And who slowed the mail?!

 

No need to answer, we already know.