[ad_1]
24 hours after the presidential elections in the United States, the uncertainty in the country remained total. Neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden yet had enough numbers to secure the White House, while all eyes turned their attention to the results in five states where margins were still minimal and votes to be counted continued to arrive.
Until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Biden, the Democratic candidate, obtained 253 votes for the Electoral College, the body that elects the president, compared to 214 for Trump. And it took a minimum of 270 to get the Oval Office.
(Can read: Record: Biden is the US presidential candidate with the most votes)
The former US vice president, however, seemed closer to reaching the magic figure, as he was ahead in two of those five states (Nevada and Arizona), which would give him – if the trend continues – exactly 270 votes. Trump, for his part, maintained an advantage in the other three (Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina), which would add 267.
But the distances in all were so narrow that anything could still happen. In fact, the president’s campaign has already announced that it will require recounts in Wisconsin, which was awarded to Biden, but where the advantage was only 21,000 votes, and Michigan, where he lost by almost 70,000. This can be done legally, as it is an option when the difference is less than one point.
But the picture was not always like this. In fact, it was more like a roller coaster that started early Wednesday morning with a Trump claiming victory when it was ahead in a majority of these states and demanding that the count be suspended when there were still millions of votes to be counted.
This earned him criticism, even from members of his own party, since in the US states can take several days, and even weeks, before presenting official results.
(We suggest: Final closed in USA: Biden wins in Michigan, key state)
I do not come to say that we won
Towards noon, the trend took a turn when Biden began topping the accounts in Wisconsin and Michigan and Trump’s margins began to shrink. in others.
Such a situation was expected, since most of these states left the sum of the votes by mail until last, a method of suffrage that was preferred by the Democrats due to fears of a possible contagion with the coronavirus.
With that trajectory confirmed, Biden’s campaign took a more triumphant tone, assuring supporters that they were on their way to victory. “I am not saying that we won. But I am sure that when the votes are finished we will be successful. The numbers in most states favor us, “Biden said in a statement to the press, after insisting that all votes must be counted.
(Don’t miss out on reading: How does the controversial Electoral College work in the United States?)
Trump, for his part, complained of possible irregularities, although without providing evidence. But members of his campaign were already preparing a number of lawsuits to dispute the vote-by-mail count in various states, arguing that authorities expanded that possibility to accommodate coronavirus restrictions.
The Democrats, for their part, said they were ready to fight in court over what they see as attempts to suppress votes that were legitimately cast.
Much, of course, will depend on the final results, but already in Washington there was talk of a scenario like that of the 2000 electoral contest, when George W. Bush won the election after more than a month of lawsuits and counterclaims in Florida, where he won by 537 votes.
Perhaps the most sensitive case of all is that of Nevada, a state that was not among the Republican accounts, but that this Tuesday emerged as a possible bomb for the Democrats.
(We invite you to read: Why has Uribe already won in the US elections?)
Biden was ahead, but only by 8,000 votes, with 14 percent of the vote still to be counted. The former vice president, however, had reasons to express confidence, since much of that pending vote is in the city of Las Vegas, where he was taking a 5-point margin from Trump. But the final results are not expected until today at noon.
The other emblematic case was that of Pennsylvania, where the president was in the lead, but where his margins began to fall as the hours passed. From almost 600,000 votes of advantage it went to about 200,000, and it is estimated that there are still 1 million votes to be counted, of which a majority would be Democrats.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden had their first face to face in the city of Cleveland, in the state of Ohio.
But authorities have said they do not expect final results before tomorrow. Biden, however, can declare victory today if the results are confirmed in Nevada and Arizona. In Arizona’s case, Biden’s lead is about 100,000 votes with 86 percent counted.. In fact, several media, including the Fox network itself, gave the former vice president as the winner.
But Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said there were at least 600,000 votes to be counted and asked not to declare a winner prematurely. The problem for Trump is that most of that pending vote is in Maricopa County, which favors Biden.
Georgia was also another who was pending. The Republican president took about 50,000 votes from the former vice president, but with 98 percent of the vote already counted, the margins to overcome that difference were rather low. And the same thing happened in North Carolina, where it is presumed that Trump won, but has not been given the victory, since the counting of a fraction of the absentee vote is still pending.
(In other news: Biden is winning popular suffrage by nearly 3 million votes)
The day also brought other news, including that of the massive electoral turnout, which was approaching 65 percent with more than 150 million votes, both record numbers in the United States.
Biden obtained 71 million votes for him against 67 million for Trump. In other words, it took out almost 4 million votes in the popular vote count, which although it does not count in the US elections, does indicate that it was preferred by the majority. Biden’s number, and still to add millions of additional votes, was already the highest obtained by a candidate for the White House in all history.
(Also read: Trump’s messages that Twitter and Facebook called misleading)
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
WASHINGTON
