US Election: Biden’s (almost certain) win: How it happened
City A.M. has been following the twists and turns of the US Presidential Election 2020 as Donald Trump and Joe Biden went head to head.
Here’s how the last three days went. We’ve wrapped up our live blog as the result becomes clearer.
13.57: Biden takes the lead in Pennsylvania
Joe Biden has taken the lead in Pennsylvania for the first time. With an extra 31,000 votes counted in Philadelphia, which voted overwhelmingly for the Democrat, Biden pulled ahead of Trump by 5,587 votes.
If Biden wins Pennsylvania he wins the presidency.
13.33: Pennsylvania update expected any moment
An updated vote count in Pennsylvania is expected very soon, according to officials.
Joe Biden is trailing President Donald Trump by around 18,00 votes currently, but is rapidly gaining ground as mail-in votes are counted.
Just over 97 per cent of total votes have been counted in the state. So far, 76 per cent of mail-in ballots have gone to Biden, while 23 per cent favour Trump
Pennsylvania is the biggest undeclared state remaining, with 20 electoral votes up for grabs. If Biden wins it, he wins the presidency. Trump must win Pennsylvania to retain any path to the White House.
12.05: Biden increases lead against Trump in Georgia
Joe Biden has extended his lead against incumbent President Donald Trump in Georgia to 1,097 votes. The Southern state this morning flipped to blue for the first time, as Biden overtook Trump’s three-day lead after bagging significant votes from mail-in ballots.
Biden will block Trump’s path to 270 if he wins in Georgia.
9.45: Georgia flips to Biden
Joe Biden has pulled ahead in Georgia by 917 votes, meaning the state has flipped over to the Democrat for the first time.
Georgia is worth 16 electoral college votes, meaning a win in the state would be enough for Biden to take the presidency. Biden needs just six votes to take him over the 270 line, while Trump trails behind on 214.
9.06: Facebook and Twitter start removing violent rhetoric as US election tensions rise
Facebook removed last night a fast-growing group in which supporters of US President Donald Trump posted violent rhetoric, as the social media giant, as well as Twitter, step up efforts to take down baseless claims and avoid 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.
8.56: Trump’s lead in Georgia plunges to a handful of votes
President Donald Trump’s lead against rival Joe Biden has shrunk to just 463 votes, handing the Democrat a clear path to the White House with four states left to be declared.
Georgia is worth 16 electoral college votes, meaning a win in the state would be enough for Biden to take the presidency. Biden needs just six votes to take him over the 270 line, while Trump trails behind on 214.
2.38: Biden cuts Trump’s lead in Georgia to less than 2,000 votes
Biden now trails Trump by just 1,902 votes, with 99 per cent of the vote counted.
Biden has been closing the gap on the President all day in the Southern state and will not be able to lose the election if he wins it.
Biden will be on 269 Electoral College votes if he wins Georgia and will at the very least will have drawn with Trump.
The magic number to win the election is 270.
If Biden does win Georgia, he will need to win just other state to claim victory.
He already leads by Nevada and Arizona.
23.49: Trump claims victory falsely…again
Trump has said at a White House press conference that he has won the election and that it was rigged in a series of false claims.
“If you count the legal votes I easily win, if you count the illegal votes they could easily steal it from us,” he said.
Trump has made a series of sensational and baseless claims at the press conference about how the election was being stolen from him.
He has even directly now accused Biden of systematic election fraud, without any evidence.
“The Republican party is now the party of the people and the party of inclusion,” he said.
“The phony polls were designed to keep our voters at home and make it seem as though we had no momentum. They were suppression polls.”
23.20: Biden continues to cut into Trump’s Georgia lead
Biden is behind now by just over 9,500 votes in Georgia as he continues to cut into Trump’s lead in the Southern state.
The President has to hold onto Georgia if he is to have any chance at all of winning the election, which is quickly slipping away from him.
Trump’s campaign press conference in Georgia has been postponed and will be held at 12.30am.
21.55 Trump camp to hold press conference at 11pm
Trump’s son Donald Jr and several other campaign figures will hold a press conference in just over one hour in Georgia.
Trump holds a slim lead in the Southern state, however Biden is closely quickly with most of the votes counted now being mail-in ballots.
The campaign has already launched legal action in Georgia.
21.23: Biden calls for patience: ‘Each ballot must be counted’
In a short statement to reporters, Joe Biden reiterated the need for patience as President Trump ramped up the calls for counts to be halted.
“In America the vote is sacred… And it is the will of the voters, no one — and not anything else — that chooses the President of the United States. Each ballot must be counted… and that’s how it should be. Democracy is sometimes messy, it sometimes requires patience,” he said.
“We continue to feel very good about where things stand. We have no doubt that when the count is finished, Senator Harris and I will be declared the winners. I ask everyone to stay calm. The process is working.”
20.56 Thursday night trading update
Wall Street indices surged by the close of play in New York as investors bet that Republicans would retain control of the Senate and block any major regulatory policy changes under a possible Joe Biden White House that could hurt corporate profits.
Votes still being counted in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, investors were abandoning cautious pre-election positioning, driving the Dow (1.7 per cent), Nasdaq (2.4 per cent) and S&P 500 (1.9 per cent) for a fourth straight session.
20.45 The state of play
The US electoral map has not moved today, however state counts in Pennsylvania and Georgia are inching toward giving their final results.
Biden needs just 17 Electoral College votes to win and will be President-elect if he maintains his lead in Arizona and Nevada.
Nevada’s count will not be completed until Saturday at the earliest, while Arizona is also moving slowly.
Georgia has less than 50,000 votes to count and Biden is trailing by less than 13,000 votes.
The Democrat has been closing the gap over the last 24 hours in Georgia and would effectively end the election if he took the state.
The vote is also trending toward Biden in Pennsylvania, but he still trails by more than 100,000 votes.
Biden’s camp is confident they will win Pennsylvania.
20.10 Less than 50,000 votes left to count in Georgia
Georgia has just 47,277 votes left to count, with Biden trailing by 12,835 in the Southern state.
Trump has to hold onto the state if he’s going to have any chance of pulling off a come-from-behind victory.
Most of the mail-in ballots have broken toward Biden, meaning he has every chance of overtaking Trump.
If Biden does win the election he only needs to win one more state to win the election.
The Democrat is also leading in Arizona and Nevada.
The last Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia was Bill Clinton in 1992.
19.23 Biden continues to cut into Trump’s Pennsylvania lead
Pennsylvania has just 350,000 votes to count, with Biden trailing by 112,000 votes in the state.
All the remaining ballots that are to be counted are mail-in ballots, which are skewing heavily toward Biden.
Biden has picked up around 70 per cent of mail-in votes in Pennsylvania, meaning that he looks likely to pick up enough votes to overtake the President.
18.40 Michigan judge throws out Trump lawsuit
8.21 Nevada result will not be known until Saturday at the earliest
Nevada’s attorney general has announced that the state will not know its final vote count until Saturday at the very earliest.
Voting has been stalled in the state’s largest county, Clark County, where there are still 50,000 mail-in ballots left to count.
Biden leads the state by just 12,000 votes.
Flipping the state is Trump’s best chance of carving a path to re-election as Biden continues to inch closer to victory.
17.59 Joe Biden calls for calm
The former vice President Biden’s team says he doesn’t expect a final result for the entire race will be known today.
17.22 Philadelphia and Pittsburgh temporarily stops counting
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have momentarily stopped counting votes as they deal with Trump’s lawsuits.
Trump’s campaign yesterday launched a bevy of legal challenges, including in Pennsylvania’s two largest cities.
Trump leads the state by about 115,000 votes, but there are still hundreds of thousands of votes to count.
Biden has been steadily cutting into the President’s lead as more and more mail-in ballots are counted.
17.09 Biden increases Nevada lead to 12,000 votes
Biden has stretched his lead in Nevada to 12,000 in a blow for Trump’s chances of re-election.
Biden’s lead is one per cent over Trump, which is an increased 0.4 per cent.
The President’s best chance of salvaging a victory is through flipping Nevada, which has an estimated 200,000 votes still to count.
Nevada, which has six Electoral College votes, voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
16.49 All eyes on Georgia as final votes come in
Biden is closing in on overtaking Trump in the state of Georgia, which would bring him to the cusp of winning the election today.
Trump’s lead over Biden is down to 15,00 votes in the southern state, with around 50,000 votes left to count.
Many of the ballots to come in are from suburban Atlanta, which will likely swing blue, as well from rural Georgia, which will likely swing red.
It is expected that Georgia’s finally tally will be known today.
If Biden wins the state, he will have 269 Electoral College votes wrapped up – just one shy of the 270 needed to win.
He would then only have to win one of Nevada and Arizona and he currently leads in both states.
15.27 Trump campaign given access to observe Philadelphia count
A Pennsylvanian court has granted the Trump team access to observe the remaining count in Philadelphia, after previously being made to stand 50 feet away.
Trump’s deputy campaign manager Justin Clark told a call of journalists today: “We had been denied access to count rooms in Philadelphia, the city claiming they were in their rights to make sure we were just in the room.
“This ruling today by the appellate court in Pennsylvania guarantees we’re going to be able to watch the ballots being counted in a corrupt place that is known for its shenanigans on election day and after.”
Trump leads Biden in Pennsylvania by about 130,000 votes, however there are still an estimated 500,000 votes to be counted.
This includes up to 150,000 votes in Philadelphia, which will swing heavily to Biden.
14.46: Protests and parties in Philadelphia
There are protests from both sides in Philidelphia as the Pennsylvania vote count drags on. They remain peaceful, with reports on CNN showing even a DJ showed up. Trump supporters wont counting to start and say only votes recieved on the day should count. Biden supporters hold signs that say “count ALL legal votes”.
14.37: President Trump is tweeting, calling for an end of vote counting
14.25: The huge figure that doesn’t actually matter:
Joe Biden has beaten President Trump convincingly in the popular vote, currently sitting at 72.1 million to 68.6 million.
However, as former popular vote winner Hillary Clinton can attest, it doesn’t really count for much in the Electoral College system.
14.15: Final votes being counted in Georgia, to be declared shortly
Georgia, home to the heaving metropolis of Atlanta, became a surprise swing state this election and a key Democrat target. Election official there are still counting the votes and President Trumps lead has shrunk to a mere 18,000 votes.
The secretary of state there has said there are now just 25,000 votes left to count and a final announcement on the winner should be expected soon.
Even if Biden pulls off an upset – and that’s a big if – it still wouldn’t tip him over the edge to 270 until results are known in Nevada, Pennsylvania or Arizona.
13.54: The pollsters have some answering to do…
The markets, investors and business owners like the rest of us followed the polls leading up to the US Election. And, even with uncertainty still reigning, one key theme of Election2020 is just how wrong the statewide polls in particular were off.
Businesses and markets hate uncertainty, and pollsters did seem to offer a false sense of security. This opinion piece from the City A.M. business features desk gives a bit of insight on how businesses can handle the choppy waters when near-certainties completely fall away.
13.15: Shares and bonds jump as Biden inches towards victory
Europe and Asia’s stock markets jumped this afternoon, while bonds extended their rally as Joe Biden inched closer to winning the presidential election.
The FTSEurofirst was up 0.8 per cent this lunchtime and Italy’s five-year bond yields fell below zero, as Biden settled into poll position to become the next US president.
Asian stocks climbed two per cent overnight to reach their highest since February 2018.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.7 per cent to a more than nine-month peak, while South Korea gained 2.4 per cent and Chinese blue chips added 1.3 per cent on hopes a Biden White House would ease up on tariffs.
11.23 Biden’s lead narrows in Arizona
Latest vote counts in the southwestern state of Arizona showed Joe Biden’s lead there narrowing.
Maricopa County, the most populous region in Arizona, released updated results from more than 140,000 ballots this morning, which showed Biden leading Donald Trump by 74,514 votes, almost 11,000 fewer than the previous update.
That slimmed down Biden’s total lead against Trump in the state to around 68,000 votes, meaning the final result could be on a knife-edge.
10.59 Arizona causes confusion
Both the Associated Press and Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden last night, handing the Democrat 11 electoral votes and taking his total to 264 — just 6 votes away from the presidency.
But other outlets have cautioned that the call may have been premature, and stripped the Democrat of the 11 votes until a total count for the state is in.
Only 85 per cent of Arizona votes have been counted so far, and Biden is leading with 51 per cent of the vote against Trump’s 48 per cent.
If Biden bags Arizona, the White House is within touching distance, but if Trump wins, the Democrat’s hopes of an easy win could turn sour.
Matters were made worse last night after Trump supporters claimed Republicans were handed “sharpie” permanent markers to make their ballots in Arizona unreadable.
Democrats said the claims — dubbed “sharpiegate” — were part of a misinformation campaign to undermine Biden’s lead in the state.
9.52 Did the Democrats throw away their shot to topple Trumpism?
The US election has not delivered the Joe Biden landslide that many were anticipating. Instead, the Democratic candidate appears to be limping towards a narrow Electoral College victory, which may well end up in the courts.
Even if The Donald is beaten, he is hardly vanquished, and the Democrats also look like they’ve failed to take the Senate. Read more here.
8.30 Long wait ahead as counting continues
Welcome back to our coverage of this marathon presidential election.
Little has changed overnight: Joe Biden is in poll position, with 253 of the 270 votes he needs, while Donald Trump has now brought legal challenges in four states.
Six states are still to be called, five of which will prove vital to determining the outcome of the vote. These are Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania.
Arizona and Nevada are both leaning towards the Democrats and if they hold steady, Biden will win the remaining 17 votes he needs to seal the election.
However, with results in Nevada – where Biden holds just a 7,000 vote lead – not expected until 17:00 GMT, it could yet be a long and anxious wait.
23.24 Goodnight from us!
After almost 48 hours, we are wrapping up our US election live blog for the evening.
However, our coverage will still continue as we get closer to having a winner in the 2020 US election.
Read more at our daily wrap: Biden in touching distance of White House as Trump calls in the lawyers
22.17 Biden closing in on victory as Michigan called for him
Biden is closing in on the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency as Michigan has been called for Biden.
The Democrat candidate is on 253 votes and is leading in Nevada and Arizona, which have a total of 17 votes.
He also has a chance of winning Pennsylvania and Georgia, with many votes still to be counted from metropolitan areas in each state that usually swing Democrat.
Trump’s best chance of winning is if he can flip Nevada and hold onto leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia.
He currently trails Biden by just 0.6 per cent, less than 8,000 votes, in Nevada, with 86 per cent of votes reported.
21.42 Trump launches legal challenge to Pennsylvania vote
The Trump campaign is launching a legal challenge to the election results in Pennsylvania, with Eric Trump claiming there had been counts of voter fraud in Philadelphia.
The President is also launching a legal challenge to the Wisconsin vote, after Biden was declared the winner of the state.
There has been no credible evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, despite claims from the Trump camp.
Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani made a series of unfounded claims at a press conference today, including that the Democrats had carried out nationwide voter fraud.
“This is a concerted effort by the folks who run the Democrat party,” he said.
“You know these big city machines are crooked, you know that. Voter fraud is one of the biggest, because that’s how you keep your power.”
21.12 Biden confident of victory once counting is finished
Speaking in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden was careful not to declare outright victory yet but seemed confident after winning Wisconsin and leading in Michigan.
“After a long night of counting it’s clear we’re winning enough states to reach 270 needed for the presidency. I’m not here to declare that we’ve won, but I am here to report that when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winner”, he said.
He called for every vote to be counted after President Trump announced legal action in Michigan and Pennsylvania to halt vote-counting.
“We, the people will not be silenced. We, the people, will not be bullied. We, the people, will not surrender. My friends I’m confident we’ll emerge victorious,” Biden said.
20.38 Trump campaign falsely declares victory in Pennsylvania
The Trump team is claiming victory in Pennsylvania just moments after announcing new legal action in the commonwealth to halt vote counting.
In a call with reporters campaign manager Bill Stepien said: “We are declaring a victory in Pennsylvania.”
The president’s son and press secretary both echoed this message:
More than 1m valid ballots are yet to be counted in the state and analysts are predicting Biden is on track to win.
20.19 Trump team starts legal action in Pennsylvania
The Trump campaign has said it is taking “critical legal actions” in Pennsylvania to challenge the mail-in ballot deadline.
Deputy campaign manager Justin Clark said: “We are suing to stop Democrat election officials from hiding the ballot counting and processing from our Republican poll observers – obvservers whose only job is to make sure every valid ballot is counted, and counted one.”
“The eyes of the country are on Pennsylvania, but Pennsylvania has kept eyes off of the absentee ballot counting process all along, and that must stop today.”
“We are also suing to temporarily halt counting until there is meaningful transparency and Republicans can ensure all counting is done above board and by the law… With these key actions, President Trump is telling all Americans he will do whatever it takes to ensure the integrity of this election for the good of the nation.”
18.56 Trump camp demands ballot counting is stopped in Michigan
Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien has announced the President is filing a law suit to try and stop ballot counting in Michigan.
“As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be,” he said.
“President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.
“We have filed suit today in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted. We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access. President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else.”
18.26 Democrats unlikely to win Senate with Maine loss
The Democratic Senate candidate for Maine Sara Gideon has conceded the race, leaving the party unlikely to win control of Congress’ upper chamber.
With a Maine victory for the GOP, the Senate would be 48 for Republicans and 45 for the Democrats, with two independents.
The Republicans look like they will be in line to win at least another three seats in the remaining races, giving the party a majority.
17.46 Trump campaign requests Wisconsin recount
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien has said the President is “well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so”.
“Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a razor thin race as we always knew that it would be,” he said.
“There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of results.”
15.04 Trump makes another claim that election is rigged
17.00 Biden officially wins Wisconsin
Biden is one step closer to the White House, after officially winning Wisconsin.
All votes have been counted in the Midwest state, with the Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator saying the Democratic nominee has won by 20,697 votes.
16.58 Trump tweets again
16.33 Michigan will be able to give close to full vote tally by end of today
Michigan’s secretary of state has said the Midwest state will have “close to a full result” announced by the end of the day, before extra precautions are taken to give a final result by Friday at the latest.
Biden leads Michigan by just 34,000 votes, with 92 per cent of votes counted, however he is expected to pick up a majority of the rest of the votes which are all mail-in and early ballots.
Michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson said: “When we have that first full tabulation [by the end of today], we will then begin the process of final and secure protocols for final tabulation which could take another 24 hours’ time.
“I expect results to be in on Friday, we’re on track for that.
“These ballots were cast by tens of thousands of Michigan citizens who have the right to have that vote counted.”
16.21 Two types of punter wins from election results
City A.M.’s resident political expert Paul Krishnamurty said two groups of betters would be vindicated by the election result.
“Those that said Joe Biden would win, and those that believed history would repeat itself and that Donald Trump would outperform the polls, but the signals on Betfair Exchange are favouring the Democrats,” he said.
“When the first polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky, Biden was a 1/2 chance (67 per cent) compared to 2/1 for Trump (33 per cent). The first dramatic swing came when returns showed the president faring much better in Miami-Dade County, Florida than four years ago. That key state turned his way early in the night.
“Soon, early leads for Biden in North Carolina, Georgia, Iowa and Texas evaporated and Trump’s odds crashed to a low of 1/4. Early votes had been declared first, creating a ‘blue mirage’ that would disappear once election day ballots began to be counted.”
However, this trend was soon reversed when swing Rust Belt states came in.
“Trump built early leads among election day voters [in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania], but millions of early votes were left to be counted,” he said.
“With three-quarters of the vote remaining, Biden’s task seemed daunting. He would need to win around 70 per cent of that final quarter of ballots. However, as they carry on counting, he is running ahead of that requirement in Michigan and Wisconsin.
“In Pennsylvania, there are still around 25 per cent to count, from which Biden will need around 68 per cent of these. Given where they are – urban and suburban areas which are strongly pro-Democrat – and the trend among early voters nationwide, this is within range.”
15.52 ‘What’s it all about?’ asks Trump
15.35: Trump campaign digs heels in despite vote counts
Donald Trump’s campaign team has hung onto hopes for a presidential victory, claiming The President will win Arizona by 30,000 votes, despite it already being called for Joe Biden.
15:25: Biden campaign says “on track” to win election
Joe Biden’s campaign manager has just told the press the former Vice President is confident of victory.
15:24: Results continue to suggest Biden is on track for victory as President again alleges foul play
Continued counting of postal votes in Wisconsin and Michigan suggests that Joe Biden could be en route to victory via the slightly unconventional route of Arizona, Nevada and the Rust Belt.
Georgia continues to be on a knife edge, with Donald Trump leading currently but being caught rapidly by Biden as postal votes from areas around Atlanta are counted.
President Trump has tweeted, again, alleging foul play in the electoral process. There is, at this point, no evidence of that claim. It’s worth noting that Republicans in states like Pennsylvania in fact created the very conditions that President Trump is complaining of.
15:17: Wall Street climbs in face of uncertainty
US investors faced their worst outcome this morning, as Election Day failed to produce a decisive result in the presidential election.
Trading in futures contracts buckled in for a wild night last night, with the S&P 500 oscillating between the red and the black almost 10 times in just 12 hours.
However, Wall Street appears to have found its footing this morning, following a rally in technology stocks.
The S&P climbed 1.5 per cent in early trading today. The Dow Jones was up 0.05 per cent to 12,883.82 at market open, while the Nasdaq jumped 3.54 per cent to 11,555.4 as tech heavyweights such as Apple and Microsoft surged.
Yields on government bonds bounced back from overnight lows, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up 0.78 per cent.
Benchmark American crude oil prices climbed 2.5 per cent, as signs of a path to victory for Joe Biden became clearer throughout the day.
14.33: QAnon supporter joins House of Representatives
Laura Boebert, a Republican candidate who has previously expressed her support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, has been elected to the House of Representatives.
14.23: Biden takes the lead in Michigan
Joe Biden has edged ahead of President Donald Trump in Michigan for the first time, according to the Associated Press.
The AP reports Biden has 49.3 per cent of the vote, against Trump’s 49.1 per cent foothold. State representatives said they were confident they would announce a full result for Michigan by this afternoon.
Michigan is worth 16 electoral votes, meaning if Biden wins the state he would only need a further 16 votes to win the presidential election.
13.04: Biden becomes most-voted-for presidential candidate of all time
Joe Biden has become the first ever presidential candidate to receive more than 70m votes, making him the most-voted for presidential candidate of all time.
America is on course for its highest electoral turnout for more than a century. More than 100m people cast their ballots in early voting before election day, while tens of millions more added their vote on the day yesterday.
12.50: Absentee ballots could bag Pennsylvania for Biden
Although President Donald Trump leads by nearly 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden will likely steal the state through absentee ballots.
Absentee votes in Pennsylvania favour Biden by 78 per cent to 21 per cent, according to the secretary of state’s office.
If Biden wins the state more than 1.4m absentee votes by such a large margin, he would net around 800,000 votes — enough to tip past Trump and take Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is currently the highest-stakes state yet to be declared, with 20 electoral votes. If Biden wins Pennsylvania, he would need just 2 electoral votes to win the presidency.
Don’t miss: All you need to know so far
Read our midday update for all you need to about the election so far, as paths to victory remain for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
We spell out five key take-homes as election day heads into the small hours across the Atlantic.
12.41: Betfair backs Biden
Betfair has favoured Joe Biden to win the US election after he overtook Trump in Wisconsin.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “Joe Biden is now back in front and the 1/2 favourite to be elected ;president as more news unfolds from the key swing states in the United States.
“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.”
President Donald Trump, whose chance of re-election moved to as high as 1/4 (80 per cent chance) earlier today, is now out to a 2/1 shot as votes continue to be counted, according to Betfair.
12.25: Trump’s chances narrow in Wisconsin
Joe Biden has upped his lead against Donald Trump in Wisconsin to around 21,000 votes, meaning Trump’s chances of winning the state grow even slimmer.
Biden’s lead in the state comes after the Democrat scooped up ballots in Green Bay and Kenosha.
Wisconsin would hand Biden 10 electoral votes, meaning the state could pave the way to the White House for the Democrat, who needs just 32 votes to tip to victory.
11.50: North Carolina update
Donald Trump is holding onto the lead in North Carolina, where 95 per cent of votes have been counted. Trump is on 50.1 per cent, while Joe Biden is on 48.7 per cent in the state.
Several Democrat-leaning counties have yet to be counted, meaning the final results for North Carolina could be very tight.
A victory in the state would hand either Trump or Biden 15 electoral votes. Biden currently needs 32 to win, while Trump is trailing behind, needing a further 57 to win.
11.47: Georgia and Michigan updates
Donald Trump is holding onto the lead in Georgia, where 92 per cent of votes have been counted.
Trump is on 50.5 per cent, while Joe Biden is currently on 48.3 per cent. The gap is approximately 100,000 votes, and there are around 400,000 ballots still expected to be counted.
Around 83 per cent of votes have been counted in Michigan, where President Trump has taken 49.8 per cent of the vote and Biden has taken 48.5 per cent.
Michigan is one of the key battlegrounds remaining in the election, with a victory in the state handing the successful candidate 16 electoral votes.
Georgia would also hand the successful candidate 16 electoral votes, meaning the election result is currently razor thin.
If Trump wins both Georgia and Michigan, as is looking likely, the President will need just 25 further electoral votes to head to victory. Biden currently needs 32 votes to be elected president.
11.20: Trump’s ‘victory’ comments ‘a disgrace’, says his former national security adviser
Former national security adviser John Bolton has slammed President Donald Trump’s false victory declaration this morning as “irresponsible” and a “disgrace”.
“I think the comments President Trump made a few hours ago where he basically said that he was winning, had won, and how the election would be stolen from him are some of the most irresponsible comments that a president of the United States has ever made,” Bolton told Sky News.
“We don’t know what the outcome will be.
“It is entirely possible that Trump could win — but he has cast doubt on the integrity of the entire electoral process purely for his own personal advantage. It’s a disgrace.”
11.10: Nevada stops counting
Nevada has paused counting votes until tomorrow. The state still has all mail ballots received from Election Day onwards to count, plus provisional ballots.
So far around 85 per cent of the votes have been counted in Nevada, with Joe Biden’s 49.5 per cent leading Donald Trump’s 48.5 per cent.
A win in the southwest state would give either candidate six electoral votes. Biden currently leads with 238 electoral votes, while Trump has 213. Both sides need 270 to win.
Don’t miss: The City reacts
The City has got exactly what it did not want in this US presidential election: an unclear result.
Investors have found themselves rapidly adjusting their positions from big bets on Biden, as the race became too close to call.
The FTSE 100 was tracking slightly higher than US stocks this morning, with the rush to the dollar pushing down the pound.
10.53 Oil prices jump on Trump’s false ‘victory’ declaration
Oil prices jumped this morning after President Donald Trump falsely claimed to have won the US election with millions of ballots still to be counted.
A win for the incumbent is seen as bullish for oil markets due to Trump’s hardline stance on Iran.
Biden, on the other hand, is considered a bearish prospect due to his commitments to green energy policies, as well as doveish approach to Iran.
10.47 Senate updates
Democrats picked up seats in Colorado and Arizona, while Republicans picked one up in Alabama in the battle for control of the US Senate in today’s election.
Republicans have fought off Democratic challengers in five of the 14 most competitive races, bolstering their chances of holding onto a majority in the 100-seat chamber.
A Democratic victory would mark a new era in US politics, if the party also captures the White House and holds onto the US House of Representatives.
The final outcome may not be clear for some time.
10.40 Biden takes Arizona
The Associated Press has called Arizona as a win for Joe Biden, with the Democrat taking 51 per cent of the vote compared to Donald Trump’s 47.6 per cent.
Biden will take Arizona’s 11 electoral votes, AP has confirmed.
10.27 Biden holds onto lead in Nevada
85 per cent of the votes have now been counted in Nevada (a further six per cent from two hours ago).
Joe Biden is on 49.5 per cent, while Donald Trump is on 48.5 per cent.
A win in the southwest state would give either candidate six electoral votes. Biden currently leads with 238 electoral votes, while Trump has 213. Both sides need 270 to win.
10.18: Betting markets all over the place as results come in
Traders on the betting markets are certainly keeping an eye on those results from Wisconsin. Joe Biden was trading at the equivalent of 7/2 on the Betfair Exchange just an hour ago — he’s now at just below evens. Somebody’s making money this morning…
9:59: Biden pulls ahead in Wisconsin
The respected poll-watcher Decision Desk suggests Joe Biden has pulled ahead in counts in Wisconsin — which, along with Arizona and Michigan, could lay the path to the White House for the Democrat.
Wisconsin would hand Biden 10 electoral votes, with the Democrat needing 32 votes to tip to victory.
However, the close result throws further confusion in Wisconsin. If a candidate comes within 1 percentage point of the winner in the state, the candidate may request a recount.
8.48 German minister worried about constitutional crisis in US
German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the situation in the United States after the election is “explosive” as she is concerned it could lead to a constitutional crisis.
“This is a very explosive situation. This is a situation that can lead to a constitutional crisis in the US, as experts are rightly saying. And it is something that must cause us great concern,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told German television channel ZDF this morning.
8.31am Electoral college votes so far
| BIDEN | TRUMP |
| 238 67,004,417 votes | 213 65,325,923 votes |
8.17am FTSE 100 slides
The FTSE 100 slumped this morning as uncertainty over the results of the US Presidential election sent shockwaves through global equity markets.
London’s blue-chip index fell over one per cent immediately after the open, but pared back losses in the first few minutes of trading to 0.75 per cent.
Traders had bet that a decisive Democratic victory could ease political risk while promising a huge boost to fiscal stimulus, but the mood quickly shifted as President Donald Trump took key battleground states including Florida.
8.01am Biden wins Arizona
Joe Biden has been declared the winner in Arizona, taking all of its 11 electoral votes. This is a huge and unexpected blow for Trump.
7.54am UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is “not worried”
UK’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, just said the British government is following the US Presidential Election “with great interest” as he emphasized he is “not worried” any US-UK trade deal would be less of a priority for a Biden administration.
“We may not know [the results] for some days… and then we plan accordingly,” Raab told Sky News.
With regards to Trump’s call for voting to be stopped, Raab said he “appreciates democratic values” and there are “checks and balances in the US system.”
7.47am Trump says he is ready to take result to Supreme Court
The President has confirmed that he plans to take the election to the Supreme Court, claiming that “fraud” has taken place.
“Frankly, we did win this election,” Mr Trump said to cheering supporters.“We want the law to be used in a proper manner, so we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court.”
“We want all voting to stop,” Mr Trump added. “We don’t want them finding any ballots at four in the morning and adding them to the list.”
Millions of votes are still to be counted.
7.23am Trump: ‘We will win this’
Speaking from the White House, Trump quipped: “This is the latest news conference I’ve ever had.”
He hailed the Republican party’s performance overnight, saying that the votes were not even closed.
He claimed victory in Georgia and North Carolina – key states where votes are still being counted – as well as highlighting a huge lead in Pennsylvania.
“We will win this. As far as I’m concerned we already have”, Trump said.
He also said that “a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise” the millions who voted for him, without citing evidence.
7.09am Trump expected to speak soon
6.52am Georgia too close to call
In Georgia, with 91% of estimated votes tallied so far, Trump is leading with 50.6%, while Biden has 48.1%, according to Edison Research.
6.36am Twitter labels Trump tweet as misleading
Twitter has labelled this tweet by Donald Trump as misleading:
“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump tweeted at 12:49am Eastern. “We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”
Twitter placed the tweet behind an interstitial label that reads: “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”
Twitter users are not permitted to either like or respond to the tweet.
6.27am Trump takes Texas
Donald Trump has officially won Texas and its crucial 38 electoral votes, AP just announced.
His victory in the traditionally conservative state does not come as a surprise, although Democrats had quietly hoped to take the state. This was a must-win for Trump.
5.45am Trump about to make his own statement
5.44am Biden: ‘We’re on track to win this election’
Biden has said in Wilmington, Delaware that he is “on track to win this election”.
He is currently neck and neck with Trump and needs to win two of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to become president.
“We feel good about where we are – we really do,” he said.
“I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election. We’re feeling good about where we are.
“We’re confident about Arizona, we also just called it for Minnesota and we’re still in the game for Georgia. We’re feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan. It’s going to take time to count the votes – we’re going to win Pennsylvania.
“Keep the faith guys, we’re going to win this.”
5.22am Biden preparing to make address at 5.30am
5.20am Trump building large leads in three Rust Belt states
Trump is building large leads in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – the three states that will decide the US election.
Whoever wins any two of the three states will win the presidency, however we will not know the final results for days.
All three states will count early and mail-in votes last, where Biden is expect to do better.
Trump is leading Biden by more than 600,000 votes, and 13 points, in Pennsylvania, however there are at least 1m mail-in and early votes to count.
The President leads by eight points in Michigan and five points in Wisconsin.
4.46am Electoral College as it stands right now
Biden leads the Electoral College vote right now by 209 votes to 118, according to the states already called by the New York Times.
However, this will change soon when Florida, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina are officially called for Trump.
Biden has built his lead through winning the classic Democrat states of California, New York and Illinois which were never in doubt.
The race is going to come down to the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, however all three states have said they won’t have a final count for days.
Whoever can win two of those three states will be the next President.
4.15am Biden on track to win Arizona
Some good news for the Biden campaign as he leads Arizona by 8.6 per cent with 75 per cent of the vote counted.
Arizona would be the only state Biden has managed to flip so far, after he was unable to win over the battleground states of North Carolina, Texas and Georgia.
Winning Arizona would clear a path for Biden to win the election if he can win two of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump swept all three of the so-called Rust Belt states in 2016.
3.40am Democrats maintain control of the House of Representatives
3.22am Pound drops against the greenback as Trump begins to surge
Pound sterling has slumped to $1.29, after earlier reaching a high of $1.31 earlier tonight.
The move coincides with Trump’s surge in key swing states of Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The President is now favourite with bookmakers.
3.16am Trump into short-priced favourite with bookies
Trump’s surge in key states has seen him significantly shorten with bookmakers, after entering the night as the underdog.
Trump is now 8/15 to win the US election, with Biden out to 13/5.
Trump has taken leads in swing states of Ohio, North Carolina and Texas after Biden built up early leads.
It will all come down to rust belt states in the Midwest, which Trump was able to flip to red last election.
Several of these states, including Wisconisn and Pennsylvania, will not finish counting mail-in ballots until tomorrow or maybe even Thursday.
2.47am Trump closing the gap on Biden in North Carolina
The President is close to overtaking Biden in the battleground state of North Carolina, after trailing early.
Biden has a 1.7 per cent lead in the southern state, with 80 per cent of votes counted.
However, CNN reports that most of the remaining ballots to be counted are in-person votes that were cast today.
It is expected this will favour Trump as the majority of early ballots were for the Democrats.
2.30am Markets in Asia are skittish as hopes of a decisive outcome fade
Investors trading in Asia-Pacific markets are now hedging against the risk of a contested election or at least a drawn-out process as mail-in ballots were counted.
That saw 10-year Treasury yields drop all the way back to 0.85%, from a five-month top of 0.93%.
E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 veered wildly between negative and positive and were last up 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei was still ahead by 1.7%, but MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan went flat.
The US dollar likewise reversed early losses and gained 0.46% on a basket of currencies to 93.561.
2.21am Trump closing the gap in Ohio
2.16am Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in the Lone Star state
Biden has a very narrow lead in Texas, which has become a swing state in the past four years.
The former Vice President leads by just a thousand votes, with 66 per cent of ballots counted.
The traditionally deep red state is going through a series of demographic changes, which has seen the Democrats become much more competitive.
1.47am Biden has growing lead in Ohio
Biden has a commanding eight-point lead in the Midwest state of Ohio with almost half of the votes counted.
Importantly, CNN reports that only 29 per cent of votes counted so far in that state are early votes.
This means that Biden is highly likely to win the state, which voted for Trump last time, as early votes are expected to swing heavily in the Democrats’ favour.
No Republican candidate has ever won a presidential election without winning Ohio.
A heavy swing to Biden could also foreshadow similar swings in other battleground Midwest states won by Trump in 2016.
1.19am Electoral College update – Biden leads early
The New York Times has Biden up on Trump by 85 electoral college votes to 55.
The magic number is 270.
The New York Times has Biden up on Trump by 85 electoral college votes to 55.
West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi are all red.
Illinois, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey are all blue.
All these results are in line with expectations.
1.06 am Republicans trying to limit processing of mail-in ballots in Nevada
The Trump campaign and Nevada Republican party have filed an emergency motion to limit processing of mail-in ballots in Clark County, Nevada.
Las Vegas is located in Clark County.
12.53am Florida see-sawing in dramatic vote count
The lead in Florida has been changing constantly over the past hour, with Biden narrowly in front with 81 per cent of the vote counted.
As of 12.53am he leads by just three thousand votes.
If Trump cannot pull off a victory in Florida then he will likely not have a path to winning the election.
Biden is outperforming Clinton in many suburban areas, while Trump has had a stunning surge in Miami-Dade thanks to an increase in votes from the Latino and black communities.
12.47am Trump has early lead in battleground state of Georgia
Trump has a small three per cent lead in the battleground state of Georgia with just five per cent of votes counted.
If Biden can manage to flip Georgia blue, after it voted Trump in 2016, it would likely signal he is on track to win other key southern swing states.
These include Texas and North Carolina, which are traditionally safe Republican areas.
12.29am Trump surging in Miami-Dade
12.25am Early states called for each candidate
US broadcasters are calling Kentucky for Trump and Virginia for Biden, which is in line with expectations.
12.21am Biden leading in Florida with almost 50 per cent of votes in
Biden has taken the lead in Florida by 51 per cent to 48 per cent, with 44 per cent of total votes in.
Biden appears to be doing better than Hillary Clinton did in 2016 in key suburban areas, including in a key county just outside Tampa that voted Trump last time.
12.02am First votes coming in from Florida
A dump of early ballots from Florida have been announced, with Trump holding a six per cent lead.
Significantly, in the counties reporting so far the Democrats appear to have a small swing in their favour.
However, this could be because Democrat voters were more likely to vote via mail-in ballot.
11.53pm Biden pulls ahead in Kentucky
With 11 per cent of the vote counted, Biden has a surprise early lead in deep red state of Kentucky.
However, these are very early figures and not expected to hold up by the end of the night.
Where it could be important is these numbers show a swing to Biden in suburban areas.
Polling throughout the campaign showed Trump was leaking votes in the country’s suburban areas.
11.30pm A slew of states set to close polls at midnight
The polls will close in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia in just half an hour, while the rest of the counties in Indiana and Kentucky will also close.
Of these, only Georgia is expected to be a battleground state, with the others all safely either blue or red.
Results in Georgia, which voted for Trump in 2016, may indicate trends in other similar swing states like North Carolina and Florida.
11.24pm Counting underway in Kentucky and Indiana
Counting is now underway after some counties in Kentucky and Indiana have closed.
Trump is up big in both states, which was expected.
Trump won Kentucky with 62.5 per cent of the vote in 2016 and won in Indiana with 56.5 per cent of the vote.
11.06pm Biden says he may not make an address tonight
Biden has told a group of reporters in Wilmington, Delaware that he will only make an address tonight to the nation if there is a clear result.
“If there’s something to talk about tonight I’ll talk about it. If not, I’ll wait until the votes have been counted the next day,” he said.
When asked what would signal tonight that he had the race won, Biden said: “Well, I don’t know. I don’t know. For example, if Florida came in by 1am it’s over. Done.
“If Florida doesn’t come in and what happens is the early vote occurs in some other states, I think we’re going to do well in them and we’re going to re-establish that ‘blue wall,’ I feel good about that.”
10.58pm Trump aide says no path for Biden to win without Florida and Pennsylvania
10.50pm Republican Party in Pennsylvania suing officials over mail-in votes
Pennsylvanian Republicans are suing officials in a suburban county near Philadelphia that favours Democrats.
The party is claiming officials in the Montgomery County are allowing mail-in ballots to be counted before polling today, which is in violation of Pennsylvanian state election rules.
Before the Open newsletter: Start your day with the City View podcast and key market data
In Pennsylvania, vote tabulation is prohibited until 7 am on election day.
The case is being brought forward by Kathy Barnette, a Republican candidate for Congress, and Clay Breece, chairman of the Republican Party in a neighbouring county.
A spokesperson for the county said its methods are “sound and permissible under the election code”.
10.31pm Democrat doggo at polling station
This good boy’s name is Henry and he was proudly wearing a Joe Biden leash at a Washington polling station today.
10pm: Investors bet Wall St swings will calm down after Election Day
Investors were pulling back on expectations for big swings in U.S. stocks on Tuesday, looking for market uncertainty to recede after Election Day.
The Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” declined as the S&P 500 climbed nearly 2% in part on anticipation of a clear presidential election outcome.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index rose 2.06%, the S&P 500 gained 1.78% and the Nasdaq added 1.85%.
It’s thought equity markets are pricing in a Biden win and the economic stimulus that’ll likely come with it.
9.42pm Can Trump win Florida through the Latino vote?
Trump has focussed heavily on courting the Latino vote in this year’s election, especially in battleground states like Florida.
Florida, which has the equal third most electoral college votes, is home to 5m people with Latino ethnicity.
This is about a quarter of the state’s population.
City A.M. spoke to Florida local Angel Vasquez at a Washington polling place while he was escorting his friend to the voting booth.
Vasquez gave some insight into why male Latino voters in particular might be drawn to the President.
“I think 50-75 Latino males seem to be more drawn to Trump,” he said.
“I think they have in their culture a macho man idea, they like someone who won’t step down to anybody. Someone that’s tough.”
9.22pm Postal voting delays
From our pals at Reuters: A judge ordered the US Postal Service to sweep mail processing facilities on Tuesday for delayed ballots and immediately dispatch any for delivery in about a dozen states including election battlegrounds such Pennsylvania and Florida.
USPS data presented in the case showed about 300,000 ballots that were received for mail processing did not have scans confirming their delivery to election authorities. While ballots may be delivered without delivery scans, voting rights groups fear mail delays could cause at least some of those votes to be disqualified.
Some areas affected by the order are central Pennsylvania, greater South Carolina, south Florida, Colorado, Arizona, as well as the cities of Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Lakeland, Florida.
9.16pm Twitter on election day
Perhaps some wise words from FiveThirtyEight editor-in-chief Nate Silver about hanging about on Twitter waiting for election news…and getting a whole lot of opinion and “reckons”.
8.45pm Down the ballot
Of course, the race for the White House hogs all the attention, but control of the Senate and Congress hangs in the balance of tonight’s vote as well.
Democrats are widely tipped to maintain control of the lower chamber, where all seats are in play.
The Senate, however, is a toss-up. In total, 12 Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats are in play, based on a Reuters analysis of three nonpartisan U.S. elections forecasters – the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.
“There are dogfights all over the country,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said at a campaign stop. He described the possibility of Republicans holding onto the Senate majority as a “50-50 proposition.”
7.41pm Dogs at polling booths
For a bit of lighter relief after the last post, here are some dogs fulfilling their civic duty today!
7.36pm D.C. locals expect riots if Donald Trump wins the US election
A lot of people City A.M. spoke to at one polling booth expect to see civil unrest and potential violence if Trump is re-elected.
Most of the buildings in Downtown Washington have been boarded up as people fear that looting and rioting could break out in the capital.
Polling shows a majority of Americans expect violence after the election results and gun sales have skyrocketed nationally.
John Scott said: “I’m concerned if Donald trump wins I think at this point in time a lot of people are tired, a lot of people are really getting out there to vote and we want to believe in this system.
“Donald trump has done so much damage…he’s created a lot of division. If he wins a lot of people will not believe in the system anymore and people are going to take to the streets.”
Taylor Cappel added: “I think it’ll be less bad than we think, but that some stuff will most likely happen.
“I think if Trump wins there will be more [rioting], if he loses there will be some, but it will still be less.”
7.23pm Polling booths very quiet in Washington, D.C. on US election day
Very few people turning up to person in Washington, D.C. today with only a trickle of people at one polling booth near the National Mall.
Almost 100m people voted early this year nationwide due to the coronavirus crisis, which is about 70 per cent of the total 2016 vote.
The District of Columbia has just three electoral votes and usually votes 90+ per cent Democrat.
People who were turning up in person said they were concerned about the potential for mail-in votes to not get counted.
The President has consistently questioned the legitimacy of mail-in voting throughout the campaign.
John Scott, who voted for Biden, said: “I’ve heard a lot of news about voter suppression and I wanted to make sure that my vote counted.”
Jamie, who voted for Biden and didn’t give her last name, said: “Given all the controversy about mail-in ballots I just thought it would be safer during the day to come and it was, it was very open and lots of space and they hand sanitiser and it was clean.”
6:22pm ‘Winning is easy’
Donald Trump tells onlookers: “Winning is easy. Losing is never easy – for me.”
6:10pm FBI investigates voter suppression
The FBI is investigating reports in several U.S states of robocalls made to potential voters in an apparent effort to suppress voters, according to a senior homeland security official.
Elsewhere a homeland official said the election was proceeding normally and there was no evidence of hacking.
5.50pm Fans from afar
President Trump, who’s holed up in the White House today, has shared a video from Nigeria showing a stream of fans in a street.
5.40pm How’s Biden feeling on Election Day?
When asked how he was feeling about on the day he could be elected US President, Joe Biden who was visiting his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania said:
I’m thinking about my mom. Grandfather Finnegan had this home for years. Then Mrs Kearns bought it from him and has owned it – there’s only been two families here – for I don’t know how many years now. So they had me sign years ago, up on the third floor…they had me sign my name.
5.26pm Guess who’s back?
2016 Democrat nominee for President Hillary Clinton, who lost the electoral college to Donald Trump, has voted…presumably for Joe Biden.
4.58pm When will we have the results?
The first polls will close at 11pm London time in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, with a stream of states closing their polls every hour from this point onward.
Crucially, not all states will count their mail-in ballots tonight, with the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin counting those ballots from tomorrow night.
That means that if the race is close then we will not know the final result for days or even potentially weeks if there are legal challenges and recounts.
The early votes are expected to sway toward Biden, meaning if he has a solid lead by the end of the tonight then he will likely be able to claim victory tonight.
One state to look for tonight is Florida, which will count early ballots tonight and will declare a winner in the early hours of Wednesday morning in London.
If Biden wins Florida it will be almost impossible for Trump to win this election.
4.58PM Welcome to 2020 US election day
It’s Christmas morning for political nerds everywhere as Americans prepare to elect the next leader of the free world.
Almost 100m people have already cast their votes through mail-in and absentee ballots, which is about 70 per cent of 2016’s total vote count.
Biden started the morning in Wilmington, Delaware, where he went to church and then visited the graves of his deceased wife, daughter and son.
He then visited his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with his granddaughters.
Trump, meanwhile, is expected to address the Republican National Committee in Virginia this afternoon, before going back to the White House.