The outcome of the US presidential election was kept in the balance Thursday night when a handful of states on the battlefield completed their vote counting.
Democrat Joe Biden has accumulated at least 253 of the 270 electoral votes he needs, according to the projections of the US network, and 264 if Arizona is included, which Fox News and The Associated Press have called in his favor.
Donald Trump has racked up 214 electoral votes so far and is still in contention in several states that would allow the Republican in power a path to reelection.
Final vote counts Thursday night or Friday are expected to be Georgia (16 electoral votes), North Carolina (15) and Nevada (6).
However, mail-in ballots mailed on or before Election Day in North Carolina can be counted through November 12.
Biden could hit the magic number to win the White House with a win in any of the three, if he sticks with Arizona. Trump needs to capture all three to stay competitive.
Here’s a look at the situation in the key states still up for grabs and the paths to victory for each candidate:
Nevada
Nevada, where Biden is the favorite, could put him in precisely the number needed to win, if he stays with Arizona. With more than 89 percent of the votes counted, Biden led by less than 11,500 votes.
North Carolina
In North Carolina, Trump had a comfortable lead of about 77,000 votes with 95 percent of the vote, about 5.38 million, tabulated.
Georgia
In Georgia, Trump’s slim lead over Biden has been steadily slipping below 2,500 votes, with about 98 percent counted.
Biden could get most of the final votes counted (fewer than 19,000 left as of Thursday night) that include thousands in Democratic-leaning areas.
Georgia has not elected a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton in 1992.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is the largest remaining prize, with 20 electoral votes. As in Georgia, Trump currently leads, but most of the votes that remain to be counted are in Democratic-leaning areas like Philadelphia.
As of Thursday night, Trump’s lead had narrowed to about 50,000 votes, with 92 percent of the vote counted.
Arizona
A wild card that could upset these calculations: Arizona. Fox News and The Associated Press have already rated the state race in favor of Biden, but other networks, including CNN and NBC, have said he is still too close to call.
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told ABC News that she did not expect a final recount Thursday, but also that she does not expect a recount.
“It doesn’t look like today, probably closer to tomorrow that we’ll be closer to passing all those ballots,” Hobbs said.
On Thursday night, Biden had an advantage of approximately 46,000 votes with approximately 90 percent of the ballots written.
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