US elections: Biden closes in on presidency, takes lead in Georgia, Pennsylvania

By Aaron Humes: Overnight, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden moved into the lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia while continuing to lead in Arizona and Nevada, all but guaranteeing himself the votes he needs to win the Electoral College and become President of the United States.

Indeed, progressive news website Vox has called the race for Biden, giving him electoral votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

But incumbent Donald Trump has not given up; his campaign continues to insist “This election is not over,” says the BBC. In a statement, Trump campaign lawyer Matt Morgan claimed without evidence that ballots in Georgia were “improperly harvested” and that in Pennsylvania election observers were not given “meaningful access” to counting, despite a judge’s order allowing them further access on Thursday.

Six states remain to declare their results; Biden is currently leading in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, all by razor-thin margins. Trump leads in North Carolina where the margin has also fallen, and more comfortably in the reliably Republican state of Alaska, which is awaiting postal votes to be counted next week. Recounts are expected in Georgia and Wisconsin, which previously declared for Biden; the president has also demanded one in another close Biden state, Michigan.

A win in just Pennsylvania, or two of the other four remaining states, would be enough to confirm Biden as president-elect. Trump, meanwhile, would need to win Pennsylvania and three of the remaining four states. There is still a possibility even of a tie, with Trump recovering to win every state but Georgia; the race would then go to the House of Representatives.

Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Speaking from the White House on Thursday, he said: “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” Beyond allegations of irregularities, the Trump campaign has not presented any evidence.

Biden, meanwhile, appealed for calm across the country and again expressed confidence he would be declared the winner. “Democracy is sometimes messy,” he said. “It sometimes requires a little patience as well.”

As results trickle in, protests involving both sides have been held in major cities over the vote counting.

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