Elections in America: Donald Trump has a wide advantage in Alaska. (File photo)
The outcome of the US presidential election was at stake on Wednesday as nine states continued to count ballots, including some of the more competitive states where the recount could take days to complete. Democratic candidate Joe Biden has a slight advantage over Republican President Donald Trump with 227-213 electoral votes.
That leaves 98 electoral votes to be assigned and possible paths to victory for both candidates.
The winner must get 270 votes. Here’s the situation in all nine states.
Vote counts are provided by Edison Research.
Alaska
Trump has a wide advantage and is expected to dominate the state.
Still, only 47% of the expected votes have been counted, with Trump leading between 62.9% and 33%.
Arizona
Biden has a significant advantage, and the Associated Press and Fox News have already called the state for the Democrat.
With 86% of the expected votes counted, Biden leads with 51.0% against Trump’s 47.6%, according to Edison Research. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs told ABC News that Maricopa County, which includes densely populated Phoenix, had about 400,000 pending ballots for more results to be counted and released Wednesday at 7 p.m.
MST (0200 GMT Thursday), and again at 9:30 pm
MST (0430 GMT Thursday).
Georgia
Trump maintains a narrow lead, but several of the large counties around Atlanta that lean toward the Democrats still have a substantial number of votes to count.
With 94% of the expected votes counted, Trump is ahead at 50.0% to Biden’s 48.8%. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he expected to have a result by the end of Wednesday. Under Georgia law, if the margin between candidates is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points, a candidate may request a recount within two business days after the results are certified.
Maine
Maine is one of two states that divide their Electoral College votes between the winner of the state popular vote and the winner in each of their constituencies.
Edison Research has assigned Biden two votes for the statewide result, which he leads by 53.8% to 43.2% with 87% of the state’s expected votes counted.
He also called the state’s 1st Congressional District for Biden, giving him a third state electoral vote. Trump has a 51.4% to 45.1% lead in the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Associated Press cast Trump as the winner of the fourth state vote on Wednesday, with just 53.7% of the expected votes.
Michigan
Biden has a very small but growing margin, with CNN and NBC projecting Biden as the winner there just before 4:30 p.m.
EST (2130 GMT) on Wednesday
Biden leads Trump by 49.8% to 48.6% with 97% of the state’s expected votes counted. Wayne County, the largest in the state and home to Detroit, had counted 95% of the expected votes, with Biden leading Trump by 67.6% to 31%. The vote count in Wayne and a handful of other key counties is expected to continue to update on Wednesday.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the state aimed to have an unofficial first tabulation within 24 hours.
Nevada
Long seen as a Biden-prone solid state, Nevada is now at stake.
Edison Research data shows that 86% of the expected votes are within and Biden’s lead is only 49.3% to 48.7% for Trump. State officials expect the remaining votes, mostly ballots by mail, be counted before 9 am
PST (1700 GMT) on Thursday
Clark County, the largest in the state and home to Las Vegas, has garnered 84% of the expected votes so far and Biden is ahead there 52.9% against Trump’s 45.4%.
North Carolina
The margin between Trump and Biden is less than 2 percentage points as the president clings to a 50.1% to 48.7% lead for the Democrat, with 95% of the expected votes counted. counted if received before November 12.
On Wednesday morning, Biden’s campaign said it expected the final result to take several days, and state officials said later Wednesday that the full result would not be known until next week.
Pennsylvania
Of the states on the battlefield, Pennsylvania has the longest to go in the vote count, and Trump so far maintains an advantage.
With 85% of the expected votes counted, Trump is up 51.7% to 47.1% for Biden. Officials can accept mailed ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Tuesday.
About 1 million votes remain to be counted, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday. If the margin of victory is within the middle of 1%, state law requires a recount.
Wisconsin
The Trump campaign said Wednesday it would request a vote recount in Wisconsin, where the margin between candidates is less than 1 percentage point.
Biden is up 49.4% to 48.8% for Trump with 99% of expected votes counted, according to Edison Research.
Edison said he would not call for a race in Wisconsin or in any state where the margin is narrow enough to allow a candidate to require a recount under state law.
Some media outlets, including NBC and the Associated Press, screened Biden as the winner. Note: vote counts provided by Edison Research, which provides exit polls and voting data to the National Elections Group media consortium.
Reuters has not independently tabulated the ballots.
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