Biden wins Arizona, Wisconsin; Trump camp suing to halt counting of votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan

5 November، 2020

United States Elections 2020 LIVE Updates: The fate of the United States presidency hung in the balance Wednesday as Democratic challenger Joe Biden picked up a win in Wisconsin while fighting President Donald Trump in other battleground states that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House. Neither candidate has cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House and the margins were tight in several other battleground states. Top advisers for both Biden and Trump on Wednesday morning expressed confidence that they respectively had the likelier path to victory in the outstanding states. The AP called Wisconsin for Biden after election officials in the state said all outstanding ballots had been counted, save for a few hundred in one township and an expected small number of provisional ballots.

Nov 05, 2020

US Elecon 2020 Results LIVE Updates: Trump campaign files lawsuit in Michigan to halt counting of ballots

The campaign of President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in Michigan to stop the counting of ballots in the presidential election, Reuters reported. “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,” the campaign said in a statement.

US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates: Did social media actually counter election misinformation?

Ahead of the election, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including unsubstantiated charges of fraud and premature declarations of victory by candidates. And they mostly did just that though not without a few hiccups. But overall their measures still didn’t really address the problems exposed by the 2020 U.S. presidential contest, critics of the social platforms contend. Were seeing exactly what we expected, which is not enough, especially in the case of Facebook, said Shannon McGregor, an assistant professor of journalism and media at the University of North Carolina. One big test emerged early Wednesday morning as vote-counting continued in battleground states including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. President Donald Trump made a White House appearance before cheering supporters, declaring he would challenge the poll results. He also posted misleading statements about the election on Facebook and Twitter, following months of signaling his unfounded doubts about expanded mail-in voting and his desire for final election results when polls closed on Nov. 3.

So what did tech companies do about it? For the most part, what they said they would, which primarily meant labeling false or misleading election posts in order to point users to reliable information. In Twitter’s case, that sometimes meant obscuring the offending posts, forcing readers to click through warnings to see them. For Facebook and YouTube, it mostly meant attaching authoritative information to election-related posts. For instance, Google-owned YouTube showed video of Trumps White House remarks suggesting fraud and premature victories, just as some traditional news channels did. But Google placed an information panel beneath the videos noting that election results may not be final and linking to Googles election results page with additional informatio

US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates: These states are deciding the US presidential election

The US presidential election will be decided by a handful of states that could swing to either President Donald Trump, a Republican, or his Democratic challenger Joe Biden. These states play a critical role in delivering the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Of the 13 states on this watch list, seven remain undecided, four have gone to Trump and two have gone to Biden. None of the decided states represent a change from the 2016 election. Due to a surge in mail voting amid the coronavirus pandemic – as well as the states’ varying rules for when ballots can be counted – the final results for all the states may take days.

Arizona

Electoral votes: 11

Polls have closed.

Rating in presidential contest: Leaning Democratic

Other key races: Democratic challenger Mark Kelly appears to have won the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Martha McSally.

Vote counting: Two news organizations have called Arizona for Biden and for the Democrat Kelly in the Senate race. All absentee ballots had to arrive by the close of polls on Election Day. Ballots could be scanned and tabulated starting 14 days before Tuesday.

Georgia

Electoral votes: 16

Rating in presidential contest: Leaning Republican

Other key races: The race for one U.S. Senate seat will proceed to a two-way runoff between a Democrat and a Republican as no single candidate received at least 50 percent of the vote. The other race is considered competitive.

Vote counting: No organization had yet to call the presidential contest nor the competitive Senate race. Absentee ballots had to be received by clerks by the close of polls on Election Day. Ballots could be opened and scanned on receipt, but they could not be tallied until after the polls closed on Tuesday. Officials in Fulton County, home to Atlanta and a tenth of all Georgians, warned on Tuesday that its vote count would not be finalized until Wednesday after a burst pipe delayed absentee-by-mail ballot processing for at least two hours, according to local reports.

Pennsylvania

Electoral votes: 20

Rating in presidential contest: Leans Democratic

Other key races: Competitive U.S. House contests in the 1st and 10th Districts

Vote counting: No organization had yet to call the presidential contest in Pennsylvania, nor for the close House races. Absentee ballot counting began at 7 a.m. on Election Day. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a ruling by Pennsylvania’s top court that officials in the state could accept mail-in ballots three days after Tuesday’s election, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day.

Wisconsin

Electoral votes: 10

Rating in presidential contest: Leans Democratic

Other key races: No governor or U.S. Senate races on the ballot

Vote counting: No organization had yet to call the presidential contest in Wisconsin. The state’s election officials cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Oct. 26. Ballots could not be counted until polls opened on Tuesday. The Board of Elections director in Milwaukee County, the state’s most populous, said on Tuesday evening that the county’s presidential vote count would not be completed until at least 6 a.m. EST on Wednesday due to the amount of absentee ballots received.

Michigan

Electoral votes: 16

Rating in presidential contest: Leans Democratic

Other key races: Competitive U.S. Senate contest

Vote counting: No organization has yet to call a winner in the presidential contest nor for the Senate race in Michigan. Absentee ballots had to arrive at clerks’ offices by the close of polls on Election Day. Some densely populated jurisdictions in the state, such as Detroit, began sorting absentee ballots on Monday, but the vast majority did not. Clerks could begin scanning and counting absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on Tuesday evening that she expected a fuller picture of the state’s results in 24 hours. She said absentee ballots could top 3.3 million, while estimating in-person voting at 2 million to 2.5 million.

North Carolina

Electoral votes: 15

Rating in presidential contest: Leaning Republican

Other key races: Competitive U.S. Senate contest has not been called. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper appears to have won re-election.

Vote counting: No organization has yet to call a winner in the presidential election nor for the Senate race. Edison and three news organization have called the governor’s race for Cooper, the Democrat.

North Carolina absentee ballots could be scanned weeks in advance, but results could not be tallied before Election Day. In a defeat for Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to block the state’s plan to tally ballots that are postmarked by Tuesday and arrive by Nov. 12.

Nevada

Electoral votes: 6

Rating in presidential contest: Leans Democratic

Other key races: No governor or U.S. Senate contests on the ballot

Vote counting: No organization has yet to determine a winner in the presidential election. Absentee ballots could be processed upon receipt starting 14 days before the election, but results are not released until election night. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted so long as they arrive within seven days after the election.

Texas

Electoral votes: 38

Winner: Trump

Other key races: U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, appears to have won re-election.

Vote counting: Edison Research and six news organizations have called Texas for Trump. Edison Research and four news organizations have called the Senate race for Cornyn.

Iowa

Electoral votes: 6

Winner: Trump

Other key races: U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, appears to have won re-election.

Vote counting: Edison Research and six news organzitions have called Iowa for Trump. Edison Research and five news organizations have called the Senate race for Ernst.

Florida

Electoral votes: 29

Winner: Trump

Other key races: Scott Franklin, a Republican, appears to have won the race for U.S. Representative of the 15th District. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican, appears to have won the race for U.S. Representative of the 26th District.

Vote counting: Edison Research and six news organizations have called Florida for Trump.

Ohio

Electoral votes: 18

Winner: Trump

Other key races: U.S. Representative Steve Chabot, a Republican, appears to have won re-election in the 1st District.

Vote counting: Edison Research and six news organizations have called Ohio for Trump.

New Hampshire

Electoral votes: 4

Winner: Biden

Other key races: Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican, appears to have won re-election.

Vote counting: Edison Research and six news organizations have called New Hampshire for Biden. Edison Research and three news organizations have called the governor’s race for Sununu.

Minnesota

Electoral votes: 10

Winner: Biden

Other key races: Competitive contests for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House in the 1st and 7th District.

US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates: Which US states are still counting votes and when will they end?

The outcome of the US presidential election hung in the balance on Wednesday as nine states continued to count ballots, including some of the most competitive battleground states where the tally could take days to complete. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a slight edge over incumbent Republican Donald Trump with 227 to 213 electoral votes. That leaves 98 electoral votes to be allocated, and possible paths to victory for both candidates. The winner needs to secure 270 votes. Here is the state of play in the nine states. The vote counts are supplied by Edison Research.

Alaska

Trump has a wide lead and is broadly expected to carry the state. Still, just 36% of the expected vote has been counted, with Trump ahead by 61.4% to 34.7%.

Arizona

Biden has a significant lead, and the Associated Press and Fox News have already called the state for the Democrat. With 86% of the expected vote counted, Biden leads with 51.0% against 47.6% for Trump, according to Edison Research.

A local news outlet in Phoenix is reporting the next count update is not expected until Wednesday evening.

Georgia

Trump is holding onto a narrow lead, but several of the large counties around Atlanta that lean Democratic have substantial numbers of ballots still to count. With 92% of the expected vote counted, Trump is ahead with 50.5% versus 48.3% for Biden.

The count in those key locations has resumed this morning, with vote tallies expected around midday. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he hoped to have a result by the end of Wednesday.

Maine

Maine is one of two states that divide their electoral college votes between the winner of the statewide popular vote and the winner in each of its congressional districts.

Edison Research has allocated Biden two votes for the statewide outcome, which he leads by 54.2% to 42.7% with 77% of the state’s expected votes counted. It also called the state’s first congressional district for Biden, giving him a third electoral vote from the state.

Trump, meanwhile, has a lead of 51.4% to 45.1% in the state’s second congressional district and could claim the state’s fourth vote, but only 53.7% of the expected vote is in.

Michigan

Biden has a razor-thin margin, with Wayne County – the state’s largest and home to Detroit – still a long way from finished with just 76.1% of expected votes counted. Statewide, with 92% of the expected vote in, Biden has an edge of 49.5% to 48.9%.

The vote counts in Wayne and a clutch of other key counties are expected to continue updating on Wednesday. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the state aims to have a first, unofficial tabulation within 24 hours.

Nevada

Long seen as a solid Biden-leaning state, Nevada now appears in play. Edison Research data shows 86% of the expected vote is in and Biden’s lead is just 49.3% to 48.7% for Trump.

State officials expect the remaining votes – largely mail-in ballots – to be counted by 9 a.m. Pacific time (1700 GMT) on Thursday. Clark County, the state’s largest and home to Las Vegas, has tallied 84% of expected votes so far and Biden is ahead there 52.9% versus 45.4% for Trump.

North Carolina

The margin between Trump and Biden is less than 2 percentage points as the president clings to a lead of 50.1% to 48.7% for the Democrat, with 95% of the expected vote counted.

The state allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday to be counted if they are received by Nov. 12. On Wednesday morning, the Biden campaign said they expect a final result to take several days.

Pennsylvania

Of the battleground states, Pennsylvania has the furthest to go in counting votes, and Trump so far maintains a large lead. With 79% of the expected vote counted, Trump is up 53.9% to 44.8% for Biden.

Officials there can accept mailed-in ballots up to three days after the election if they are postmarked by Tuesday. About 1 million votes remain to be counted, Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said on Wednesday.

If the margin of victory is within half of 1%, state law requires a recount.

Wisconsin

Biden has pulled ahead, but his lead is narrow. With 97% of the expected vote tallied, Biden is up 49.5% to 48.8% for Trump.

Edison’s data shows 15 counties still to report some volume of ballots. If the margin is within 1 percentage point, a candidate can ask for a recount.

US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates: Wall Street seeks safety of Big Tech as election hangs in the balance

The United States’ big technology names led gainers on Wall Street on Wednesday, as investors sought the security of this year’s big stay-at-home corporate success stories in the face of a presidential election set to go down to the wire. Overall, Wall Street’s main indexes surged to a more-than-one-week high with the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperforming. Following are major movers as traders and investors in New York’s main stock indexes digested the results and President Donald Trump’s chances of beating Democratic challenger Joe Biden to win a second term.

Big Tech

Technology mega-caps have benefited from Trump’s softer stance on regulation and anti-trust policies as well as a tax cut that targeted U.S. big business.

Microsoft, Intel and IBM rose between 0.4% and 2.2%, while FAANG stocks Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google surged between 3.2% and 7.5%.

“With a Trump presidency more likely than expected and a more evenly balanced Senate, any big change like higher capital gains tax or a legislation that regulates the tax more aggressively is less likely, and that’s why tech is doing better,” said TS Lombard’s head of strategy, Andrea Cicione.

US-listed Chinese stocks

The iShares MSCI China ETF scaled all-time highs, up 4.5% as a Biden administration is expected to ratchet down tensions in the U.S.-China tariff war.

Shares of Baidu JD.Com Alibaba rose between 2.8% and 5.6%.

Defense

The iShares US Aerospace & Defense and the SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF extended gains to a third session.

Contractors Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon rose between 2.2% and 6.0% after the Congressional results so far suggest Republicans retaining control of Senate.

“This removes the threat of a Blue Wave, and ‘progressive’ Democrats attempting to take an axe to the Department of Defense budget to fund other spending priorities,” said Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard.

Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer, Merck & Co, Eli Lilly, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers and Johnson & Johnson all rose between 2.7% and 7.5%.

Analysts at SVB Leerink said a Trump win with a close Senate race was almost an ideal outcome for biopharma and that an effectively split Senate would likely shield the industry from any sweeping reforms.

Banks

Some of Wall Street’s big banks slid, with JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citi down between 1.0% and 2.7% as market participants feared a divided Congress would make it harder for Washington to pass another coronavirus stimulus package.

“Now there will be a split Congress and, therefore, a lot more fiscal restraint and those expectations of higher inflation and high yields favoring banks and financials will have to be reassessed,” Cicione said.

Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley managed to eke out gains, with Goldman up 2%.

US Election 2020 Results LIVE Updates: US election night draws estimated 22.8 million TV viewers, below early figures for 2016

An estimated 22.8 million people watched U.S. election returns on television on Tuesday night, according to preliminary ratings cited by Hollywood outlets The Wrap and the Hollywood Reporter, suggesting viewership may be down from election night in 2016. They cited early Nielsen data across six networks – Walt Disney Co’s ABC, Fox, Comcast Corp’s NBC, CBS and Spanish-language channels Univision and Telemundo. The Wrap said the preliminary figures showed a shortfall of several million viewers across the six networks compared to early data reported on election night in 2016.