Live Reports from Brig’s US Election coverage team.
20:51 GMT: As Democrats rejoice counts in Georgia, North Carolina, and Alaska continue.
Georgia’s 16 electoral votes are still undecided with Biden leading by just 0.2% as a recount means an outcome remains some way off.
North Carolina has reported 99% of it’s ballots counted with President Trump leading by 1.4%, 15 electoral votes are at stake in the southern state.
Alaska’s 3 electoral votes look likely to head for Trump who holds a commanding lead there. This will provide scant consolation after a disappointing week for the incumbent President.
17:28 GMT: The dominoes tumble as Nevada is called for Biden, cementing his victory.
The Silver State of Nevada has declared President-elect Joe Biden, the winner of it’s 6 electoral votes pushing Biden to an unconfirmed total of 290. The Democratic nominee took the state by a 2% margin. Arizona continues it’s count but the call for Biden there looks likely to remain in place. Georgia continues it’s count and could take Biden to 306 if his lead holds there.
16:35 GMT: Joe Biden has won the state of Pennsylvania with multiple outlets now calling the election for the Democratic nominee.
The former VP has won PA by a margin of 0.5% making a recount unlikely. With Arizona still in play for many outlets whilst Nevada and Georgia are still some time from declaring a result, Pennsylvania was the only likely route to victory for Biden today. The Associated Press have called the election for Biden with 284 electoral votes whilst the BBC have called with race with a count 273 votes (Arizona remaining uncalled by them).
Whilst confirmation is being awaited on Nevada and Arizona, and we will continue to provide updates, Brig can provisionally call the 2020 US Presidential Election for Democratic Party nominee, Joe Biden.
05:10 GMT: As the nation watches AZ, NV, PA and GA, North Carolina moves closer to announcing a result.
Whilst the country focuses on it’s neighbour of Georgia, North Carolina has moved to 99% votes reported as counted. Trump has a convincing lead of 1.4i% in the state leaving an outcome here unlikely to swing the election. Victory for Trump would give him another 15 electoral votes taking him to 229, providing a much needed morale boost for a campaign on the back foot for the past few days.
04:10 GMT: In an address to the nation Biden claims “we’re going to win this race” but fails to call an outright victory.
In a live speech, flanked by running-mate Kamala Harris, Biden spoke of a “clear majority” and “a more perfect union” as he addressed the division and animosity the presidential race has stirred up.
Margins in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia remain unchanged at this time.
02:56 GMT: Mixed news for Joe Biden as he creeps closer to a safe margin in PA whilst his lead in AZ falls.
In Pennsylvania the former VP’s lead has risen to 0.4% raising hope of Biden avoiding a recount in the state. Just over 27,000 votes still separate the nominees but a confirmed victory in the state would give Biden 20 electoral votes and allow outlets to call the race regardless of results elsewhere.
Meanwhile in Arizona concern is rising for Biden as his lead is cut to just 0.9% with less than 20,000 votes seperating him and President Trump. Without a confirmed victory in Pennsylvania the state becomes crucial to Democrats who still hold a strong lead of 1.8% in neighbouring Nevada. If Biden is confirmed the winner of Arizona then Nevada’s 6 electoral votes would be enough to call the election.
01:20 GMT: Attrition sets in as the race for the White House drags on into the weekend.
In Georgia the Democrat nominee, Joe Biden, has a narrow 0.1% lead but a recount means the southern state has a long way still to go before a final count can be called.
In the Keystone State of Pennsylvania, the Scranton-born Biden has now crept into a 0.3% lead but the race still looks too close to call with a margin of close to double that likely needed to avoid a recount.
In Nevada President Trump has fallen behind by 1.8% as the western state looks increasingly likely to turn blue. However the count in Clark County looks likely to hold up a final result until deep into the weekend with some sources stating a final count in the county may not be reached till Sunday.
Finally, in Arizona the count continues with many outlets still not calling the state for Biden who currently holds a 1.2% lead over Trump. Brig has called the Copper State for Biden in line with calls made by the Associated Press, Fox News, and others.
16:05 GMT: Fox News ‘tells staff to refuse to call Biden president-elect’
In a rather unpleasant display of bad-faith and clear bowing to pressure from the White House, Fox News has told staff to refuse to refer to Biden, in the event of his victory, as the president-elect.
Trump is still maintaining electoral fraud and accusing the Democrats of ‘stealing the election’ despite these claims being baseless.
Notwithstanding this lack of evidence, Fox News has chosen to remain loyal to the incumbent president and espouse his angle.
16:00 GMT: Georgia heading for recount as race too close to call, says top official
State legislation on the subject varies- In Georgia, the law dictates that in the event of a result being within a margin of 0.5%, an automatic recount occurs.
“Right now Georgia remains too close to call. Out of approximately 5 million votes cast we’ll have a margin of a few thousand,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a republican, said. “With a margin that small, there will be a recount in Georgia.”
14:51 GMT: Secret Service to increase Biden protection ahead of possible acceptance speech in Delaware on Friday
The Washington Post reports that Biden will be provided with increased security in Delaware if he returns the anticipated victory.
In light of violence erupting across the states, in particular from Trump supporters, Biden’s safety will be of paramount importance.
14:50 GMT: Republicans are continuing to come out to decry Trump’s claims of voter fraud as the election reaches its peak
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, said on Friday he had seen no evidence to support Mr Trump’s claim Thursday evening of fraud in balloting.
“The president’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very, very serious allegations without any evidence to support it,” Toomey told CBS News.
He added: “I voted for President Trump. I endorsed President Trump. I want the next president to be the person who legitimately wins the Electoral College and I will accept whoever that is.”
Adam Kinzinger, a Republican congressman from Illinois, tweeted that the president’s claims of fraud are “getting insane.” If the president had legitimate concerns about fraud, they needed to be based on evidence and taken to court, Mr Kinzinger said, adding: “STOP Spreading debunked misinformation.”
14:40 GMT: Associated Press have released a statement articulating why Pennsylvania has not been called yet as calls to declare a winner mount.
Associated Press reiterates the fact that some votes have still not been counted, and emphasised the importance of not calling early in an election of this closeness.
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the battleground state of Pennsylvania because there are tens of thousands of votes left to count in the contest between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden.
Pennsylvania is among a handful of battleground states Trump and Biden are narrowly contesting as they seek the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead early Wednesday, prematurely declared victory in the state.
“We’re winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount. We’re up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. These aren’t even close. It’s not like, ‘Oh, it’s close,”‘ Trump said during an appearance at the White House.
But by early Friday, Biden had taken a lead of about 6,000 votes as mail-in ballots from across the state continued to be counted. The late counted ballots were overwhelmingly in Biden’s favor.
One reason the race tightened: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day. It’s a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming — without proof — that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.
There’s a possibility the race won’t be decided for days. If there is less than a half percentage point difference between Biden and Trump’s vote total, state law dictates that a recount must be held.
14:15 GMT: Biden has now taken the lead in Pennsylvania by a margin of 0.1% over Trump with 97% of votes reported.
In Georgia both candidates remain neck-and-neck with Biden just holding onto his lead whilst the situation in Nevada remains unchanged.
At this moment if Biden keeps his lead in the three states he will finish on 306 electoral votes and take the White House.
09:50 GMT: The rollercoaster of a race in Georgia continues as Democrat nominee and former VP, Joe Biden, takes a lead over incumbent Republican President, Donald Trump.
The southern state has been the tightest contest the US electoral map has seen for decades with both candidates on 49.4% shares of the vote. Biden has now crept into a lead of just 917 votes over Trump
Elsewhere margins in Pennsylvania and Nevada stay unchanged with Trump leading by 0.3% in the Keystone state whilst Biden holds a 0.9% lead out west.
Counts in Alaska and North Carolina remain paused and are unlikely to affect the final outcome at this point.
09:28 GMT: President Trump takes aim at Twitter and government legislation that provides immunity for platforms like the social media giant from prosecution over content posted by users.
08:35 GMT: The closest election in 20 years continues to go to the wire in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.
Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania has vanished with the gap down to just 0.3%. Georgia is in a virtual tie with the gap sitting at just 665 votes in it. As a point of reference, the closest contest in 2016 was Michigan with a gap of 0.3% and 13,080 votes.
Counting in Nevada continues to drag on with efforts focusing on the state’s Clark County.
With the tallies being so close the chances of a recount in Georgia and Pennsylvania are now high.
02:44 GMT: Georgia is a virtual tie between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
02:29 GMT: Biden closes gap in PA and GA
Joe Biden has reduced Donald Trump’s leads in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
It is near equal percentage in Georgia as there is less than 3000 votes between Biden and Trump.
Trump is now only 0.7% ahead of Biden in Pennsylvania with just over 40,000 votes between the two.
02:15 GMT: Trump closes Biden’s AZ lead
Donald Trump has closed in on Joe Biden’s lead in Arizona.
Biden’s lead is now less than 2% with less that 100,000 votes between him and Donald Trump.
00:15 GMT: Trump repeats vote rigging claims
In a statement at the White House, Donald Trump repeated false claims of vote rigging and political corruption at counts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
No evidence was offered to back up his claims.
The claims made about vote rigging are false.
22:00 GMT: Slow progress in the counts for Georgia, Pennsylvania and Nevada reduce the electoral race to a crawl.
Biden still leads Nevada by 0.9% with 76% reported votes counted but delays in Clark County could prevent Nevada from providing a clear victor this evening.
Trump’s position in Pennsylvania continues to slip with his lead falling to 1.4% but with the state’s reported votes counted sitting at 88% for quite some time (source: Associated Press) there could be a long wait still for the Keystone state to declare a winner.
Georgia goes to the wire with the candidates just 0.2% apart as Trump’s hold on the state looks in doubt. The state currently has 99% of reported votes counted and looks to be the most likely state to be called next.
20:23 GMT: Officials in Georgia have stated they still have 47,277 ballots remaining to be counted.
Trump, according to the most recent update, is currently ahead by just 12,835 votes.
19:00 GMT: Donald Trump’s team have lost a legal bid to have vote counting stopped in Michigan.
According to The Associated Press, Michigan has already been called in favour of Joe Biden, and will almost certainly be a victory for the Democrats.
18:35 GMT: Counting has resumed in the potential election decider of Nevada with Biden holding a slender lead of 0.9%.
In the keystone state of Pennsylvania Trump’s lead has slipped to 1.8%. In the tightest contest of the evening, Trump’s hold on Georgia has fallen to a lead of just 0.3%. Alaska and North Carolina have yet to resume their counts.
09:01 GMT: At this crucial juncture, Biden needs just six more electoral votes, while Trump is lagging behind at only 214 votes:
This is liable to change with the results of Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina, with Nevada proving to be potentially crucial for both sides.
The states show a Trump lead, but a neck and neck scenario is before us going into the last leg of the election.
If Trump wins all 3, he adds 51 electoral college votes to his 214, giving him a total of 265. With Alaska still to return results that indicate a strong Trump leaning, it is still not enough to take Trump to 270 with Alaska’s 3 Electoral College votes. With a Nevada victory alongside victory in aforementioned states, Trump could secure a majority.
Joe Biden sits at a comfortable 264 votes at current. He only needs 6 Electoral College votes to win, and Nevada will help Biden secure the presidency- 6 Electoral College votes exactly are up for grabs with a Nevada win. Biden has just a 0.6% lead as of this time, indicating the fight is far from over in Nevada, potentially the key state in securing victory for either party.
Nevada expects to return a result later today, Thursday 5th November, after a days hiatus.
09:00 GMT: Pennsylvania vote count estimates approximately 89% of votes have been counted, with Trump in a 2.6% lead over Biden at current.
08:55 GMT: North Carolina count sees Donald Trump in 2.4% lead over Biden with an estimated 94% of results counted.
08:50 GMT: Georgia count puts Trump in minute lead of Biden (0.4%) with around 98% of the votes counted.
The vote is still too close to determine, however it looks as though Trump will maintain the small lead resulting in a minute Georgia victory for the republican.
08:20 GMT: Violence escalates as solitary and group protesters alike increase, as the election reaches fever pitch.
A man in Nevada interrupted a press conference live to espouse fears that Biden and the Democrats have ‘stolen the election’, scarily echoing Trump’s tweet illustrating how seriously his erroneous and half baked misinformation is taken by some of his supporters.
An elections official had ceased telling the press that the state was not ready to release a final vote count when a man in a white T-shirt emblazoned with “BBQ, Beer, Freedom” appeared from behind, and proceeded to shout that the “Biden crime family” was stealing the election, and that the media was implicit in covering it up.
Additionally, police in the Portland area have arrested 10 people and seized fireworks, hammers and a rifle after declaring riots in the city’s downtown area.
Oregon governor Kate Brown enlisted the state’s National Guard in response to “widespread violence” the night after election voting.
New York Police Department said it made around 50 arrests in protests that spread in the city late on Wednesday.
In Maricopa County, Arizona’s ballot-counting facility is still closed to the public after armed Trump protesters posed safety concerns, gathering outside the facility with weapons.
06:45 GMT: ‘Simply wrong’: Pennsylvania governor hits out at Trump lawsuit to stop votes being counted
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has called the Trump campaign’s lawsuit which seeks to stop the counting of ballots “simply wrong”, while promising to “fight like hell” to protect every Pennsylvanian citizen’s vote.
“It goes against the most basic principles of our democracy. It takes away the right of every American citizen to cast their vote and to choose our leaders. Our election officials at the state and local level should be free to do their jobs without fear, without intimidation, without attacks,” Mr Wolf said on Wednesday night.
05:24 GMT: BREAKING: Maricopa count in Arizona suspended due to fears of armed protesters, reports
Election officials have paused the count in Maricopa, Arizona after crowds of armed protesters reportedly gathered outside counting.
CNN is reporting they closed due to concerns from the large crowds, while Sheriffs deputies are on the scene in tactical gear.
This may affect Arizona conclusively reporting their winner, despite Biden’s lead and probably win.
05:00 GMT: Arizona is leaning Biden for the Democrats as predicted and reported
The state that has caused so much dismay from the Whitehouse at its apparent early calling by Fox News for Biden has indeed been called for the Democrats. As Brig and most other sources reported Arizona as a tick for Joe Biden already, his Electoral College votes remain unchanged at 264.
04:15 GMT: What to expect as the US heads into Thursday:
As we go into the late evening and early morning in the US, we can expect Georgia and North Carolina to be called soon, with over 93% of votes counted for each state respectively.
Mr Trump’s efforts at subverting the counting process may hinder the pace of return reporting however.
Pennsylvania will likely follow, as 89% of votes have been counted. Again Trump’s lawsuit involvements may slow this to a halt, albeit not for long.
Nevada has suspended its vote counting until around 9AM Pacific time, after a day long hiatus was announced, so it is likely Nevada will report last, although we do not know how Trump’s legal action will impact the speed of reporting in other states.
Alaska has, as of now, around 50% of votes counted, with postal vote counting again being the main reason for delay. It is unclear when Alaska will report, but it is likely late Thursday morning.
04:00 GMT: Early morning update. Current Electoral College votes as of now are as follows:
Joe Biden has 264 votes; Donald Trump has 214.
03:15 GMT: Trump filing lawsuits against Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud or manipulation
Georgia has been added to the list of states Trump is rallying legal teams against in a shameful display in the face of democracy.
02:00 GMT: Arizona returns give further hope to Trump campaign
The Trump campaign is feeling vindicated at its outrage toward Fox News for first calling Arizona early in the race.
Pollsters are closely watching returns and say the race is tightening enough to at least give credence to their protestations, if not the ultimate win.
01:30 GMT: Arizona gains for Trump as state may have been called too early
Arizona has been called for Joe Biden by Associated Press. But with 86 per cent of the vote counted, Donald Trump is trailing by less than 80,000 votes.
Returns in Maricopa County came in for Trump at almost +18, putting another 12,644 votes in his column.
The New York Times’ pollster Nate Cohn said it confirms the race is going to get closer, though it’s hard to say if it’ll be enough to put the state back into play for Trump.
One thing it may be enough for is putting off a final call in Arizona tonight.
“It’s hard to game out exactly where we’re heading in Arizona. It both depends on how many ballots are left and what kind of ballots, and neither is exactly clear,” Cohn said.
23:20 GMT: Multiple sources project that Joe Biden will win Michigan, leaving him only six electoral votes from the Presidency.
22:30 GMT: Donald Trump has effectively indicated he will not have another public speech this evening as he puts a ‘lid’ on appearances.
Watch this space regarding Twitter, as the president may be back in online form.
Joe Biden is confident going into the last leg of vote counting for Wednesday evening:
On Twitter, Biden said, “I am confident we will emerge victorious, but this will not be my victory or our victory alone. It will be a victory for the American people, for our democracy, for America.”
22:03 GMT: Trump tweets that he has “claimed” Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina
“We have claimed, for Electoral Vote purposes, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (which won’t allow legal observers) the State of Georgia, and the State of North Carolina, each one of which has a BIG Trump lead,” he tweeted.
“Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact,…there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported!”
Trump cannot simply claim a state, and the vote will inform us who has won in each state respectively soon.
22:00 GMT: Rudy Giuliani vows lawsuits to stop Biden becoming president
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani called for a “national lawsuit,” as he falsely claimed there had been voter fraud while speaking at a Trump campaign press conference in Pennsylvania.
Giuliani followed up these sentiments with an erroneous statement claiming Trump had already won the election: “We’re gonna win this election. We’ve actually won it.”
21:15 GMT: A protest has arisen in Detroit, Michigan outside a vote counting site.
The small group of protesters demanded access to the building, and shouted: “Stop the vote.” They may be Trump supporters impassioned by Mr Trump’s declarations of fraud and calls to end the vote counting.
20:30 GMT: Donald Trump has filed lawsuits to attempt to stop both Pennsylvania and Michigan from counting their last votes.
Rudy Giuliani will arrive in Pennsylvania shortly to contest election results Trump’s campaign alleges are void as a result of “cheating”.
19:40 GMT: Trump is also attempting to hinder vote counting in Michigan.
Mr Trump is threatening to sue to ‘halt’ vote counting in the yet-uncalled state, although Biden is favoured to win.
19:34 GMT: Trump continues complaining about votes being counted (despite the fact counting all ballots is a constitutional practice)
Trump continues to attempt to sabotage Pennsylvania vote counting in an unconstitutional bid to suppress voters.
Trump’s team has went as far to send Rudy Giuliani to Pennsylvania in a misguided attempt to cease vote counting.
The former New York mayor tweeted on Wednesday afternoon: “En route to Philadelphia with legal team. Massive cheating… realDonaldTrump up by 550,000 with 75% counted. Will not let Philly Democrat hacks steal it!”
Trump has potentially sowed the seeds of wariness in relation to postal votes over the last few months, perhaps priming this situation if he began to lose his lead.
19:22 GMT: Joe Biden has officially won Wisconsin, bringing his Electoral College votes to 248.
Wisconsin is a landmark victory for Biden edging him closer to the presidency, as he prepares to face down Trump as the last 5 states are called: Michigan, Alaska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
19:00 GMT: Trump team begins fundraising as it prepares for legal battles over election result
There is no evidence to suggest that voting fraud or tampering has occurred. Trump and his campaign team are mobilising a legal team to contest the voting count in various states.
The Trump administration fired out a fundraising email to supporters in the early hours of Wednesday as the president prepares for legal battles over the election result if he loses.
The email, sent at 4.20am eastern time, read: “The Democrats will try to STEAL the Election! President Trump needs YOU to step up and DEFEND the results.”
18:00 GMT: The current standings are thus, as of now:
Joe Biden has 238 Electoral College votes, and has won 21 states so far: Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Illonois, Virginia, New York, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.
Donald Trump has 213 Electoral College votes, and has won 23 states so far: Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida.
Biden is predicted to win Wisconsin, Nevada, and Michigan, while Trump is anticipated to claim Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alaska, and Georgia.
These states have not been called yet however and are still officially contested.
17:46 GMT: Trump campaign demands recount in Wisconsin before official vote is called
The president’s campaign is already demanding a recount of the vote in Wisconsin, as polls showed Joe Biden with a narrow lead in Wisconsin, which Trump previously won in 2016.
Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager for 2020 gave this statement:
“Despite ridiculous public polling used as a voter suppression tactic, Wisconsin has been a razor-thin race as we always knew it would be. There have been reports of irregularities in several Wisconsin counties which raise serious doubts about the validity of results. The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”
16:30 GMT: Biden campaign warns again it has ‘legal teams standing by’ as Trump threatens court action over election result.
Both sides are threatening legal action in a bid to ‘save the election’ from their perspectives. Trump is erroneously claiming the democratic process has been jeopardised after asking the Supreme Court to force a cessation of counting votes, which has been rejected and lambasted globally.
16:20 GMT: Biden campaign says they expect a victory ‘this afternoon’
Projections are looking positive for Biden and his campaign- he is predicted to have an extremely narrow lead, one of the closest elections in US history.
15:07 GMT: Trump is still maintaining his position, spewing nonsensical accusations of voter fraud or inconsistencies.
As Trump’s lead declines, he makes spurious claims surrounding his lead having ‘magically disappeared’.
“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted. VERY STRANGE, and the “pollsters” got it completely & historically wrong!”
His disgraceful coup on democracy itself will hopefully die down; Trump’s legacy is secure as being potentially the most open sore loser in recent history.
14:30 GMT: Trump continues baseless accusations of electoral fraud and inflames conspiracy theories in incredibly unprofessional attack and assault on the American voting system.
13:50 GMT: Biden pulls ahead in Michigan
A pivotal moment for the Democrats in this election. Michigan is a crucial win for Biden at this late stage.
The Democrat is up by just 3,700 votes in the state, according to the AP, but that could be worth a huge 16 Electoral College points to him.
12:31 GMT: A record turn out for the polls in the USA.
America is seeing it’s highest voter turn out since 1900, illustrating the importance of this presidential election to voters.
11:31 GMT: Biden ahead in Wisconsin by 7,700 votes with 96 per cent of ballots counted.
11:00 GMT: Nevada have announced they will resume counting the votes at 9AM on Thursday, effectively suspending voter counts until then.
Projections look positive for Biden.
09:45 GMT: AP has called Maine for Biden.
The AP is calling another north eastern state for the Democrat.
09:06 GMT: Biden responds to Trump’s comments
The Biden campaign has released a statement denouncing the comments made by Donald Trump declaring a premature and false victory in the Presidential race and calling on the Supreme Court to stop the counting of ballots.
The statement read;
It was outrageous because it is a naked effort to take away the democratic rights of American citizens.
It was unprecedented because never before in our history has a president of the United States sought to strip Americans of their voice in a national election. Having encouraged Republican efforts in multiple states to prevent the legal counting of these ballots before Election Day, now Donald Trump is saying these ballots can’t be counted after Election Day either.
And it was incorrect because it will not happen. The counting will not stop. It will continue until every duly cast vote is counted. Because that is what our laws — the laws that protect every Americans’ constitutional right to vote — require.
We repeat what the Vice President said tonight: Donald Trump does not decide the outcome of this election. Joe Biden does not decide the outcome of this election. The American people decide the outcome of this election. And the democratic process must and will continue until its conclusion.
08:57 GMT: Vote counts still underway
Vote counts are still underway in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia.
PA, WI and MI are said to be the deciding states in who will win the election and become the next President of the United States.
Donald Trump’s false victory claim and comments about the Supreme Court stopping any more ballots from being counted have been denounced by the media and political figures.
The record number of voters alongside new rules due to the coronavirus pandemic have led to some delays. – Harry Williamson
07:32 GMT: Trump says he will go to Supreme Court to stop vote counts
In a speech at the White House Donald Trump has said that he has won the election despite several states still needing to be called and no clear winner has emerged
Trump also said that he would go to the Supreme Court to stop vote counts.
07:01 GMT: Trump is due to deliver speech shortly
Trump is predicted to address the nation at the White House in minutes. -Rachel Swan
07:00 GMT: As of now, the US election is incredibly close. As votes continue to come in we will garner a clearer picture.
Current Electoral college votes for each candidate respectively stand as follows: Joe Biden has 224 votes, while Trump has 213.
Midwestern states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan are too close to call at this point, with a Trump lead but predicted high numbers of uncounted Democrat votes to come. -Rachel Swan
06:50 GMT: Conclusive result unlikely to be determined by early morning- Wednesday night is predicted to be the earliest we will know definitively.
97.1 million Americans had voted by post by Monday 2nd of November, double that of last year- a result of a COVID concerns. As a result, the vote counting will take longcome-Rachel Swan
06:42 GMT: Joe Biden predicted to win Rhode Island as night draws to a close.
CNN, ABC, NBC and the AP have all predicted that Biden will take the small state.
Joe Biden now stands with 224 Electoral college votes.
06:40 GMT: Donald Trump predicted to win Montana.
The president will likely add a further 3 Electoral college votes to his total tally, giving him a grand total of 213 votes.
06:25 GMT: Donald Trump wins Texas.
The race is getting even closer as Texas’ 38 electoral college votes go to the president, putting Donald Trump at a total of 212 votes up against Joe Biden’s 223 votes from 41 states plus DC.
The states to watch now are Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina followed by Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
06:07 GMT: Joe Biden takes to Twitter to respond to Trump.
“It’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare the winner of this election. It’s the voters’ place,” Biden said in the tweet.
“We feel good about where we are. We believe we are on track to win this election.”
05:50 GMT: Trump has responded to Biden- he will give a statement ‘later’
Trump also tweets that the Democrats are ‘trying to steal the election’.
“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!” Trump said.
05:45 GMT: Trump has won Florida.
After a night of fierce battle, Florida has finally been called for Trump, giving him a crucial 29 Electoral College votes.
05:42 GMT: Joe Biden makes speech to nation.
He said ‘we feel good about where we are.’ He believes the Democrats will win the election overall. ‘We will wait until every ballot is counted. Biden also claims they will win in Pennsylvania after all votes are counted.
‘I am grateful for all my supporters… Keep the faith guys.’
05:31 GMT: Donald Trump wins in Ohio, Iowa and Montana.
The president has won the key states of Ohio and Iowa, and Montana and picked up 27 Electoral College votes.
Donald Trump now has 145 votes, while Joe Biden’s recent pick up of Minnesota puts the Democratic candidate at 223 votes.
05:30 GMT: Joe Biden to make statement in home state Delaware shortly.
5:20 GMT: Biden wins Minnesota.
Joe Biden manages to acquire 10 electoral votes for Minnesota, bringing his total to 223 Electoral College votes from 18 states.
With the race so close at this point, Biden is expected to make a statement shortly.
05:18 GMT: Joe Biden wins Hawaii.
Biden accrues four electoral votes with Hawaii, bringing his total to 213.
05:06 GMT: Donald Trump has been predicted to win the State of Ohio.
04:57 GMT: Nevada count underway
Vote counting has started in the State of Nevada, the state offers 6 electoral votes.
04:50 GMT: Trump leads in PA
Donald Trump is leading in Pennsylvania by 14.4% as 50% of votes have been reported.
04:42 GMT: Biden has closed the gap in Iowa and is now only 3% behind Trump with 71% of votes reported.
04:27 GMT: As the Iowa votes reach 69% Trump has developed a near 2% lead over Biden.
04:27 GMT: Joe Biden has a 0.3% lead in Iowa with 65% of votes reported.
04:13 GMT: As of now, Donald Trump has won 18 states for a total of 118 electoral votes: Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Idaho.
Joe Biden has won 17 states for a total of 209 electoral votes: Vermont, Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, New Mexico, District of Colombia, Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington.
04:11 GMT: Trump takes Utah and Idaho, per the Independent.
04:08 GMT: Biden has won California, Oregon and Washington, according to the Independent.
The four states in the west leaves the total number of states now called to 35.
3:58 GMT: Biden wins New Hampshire, according to the Independent.
New Hampshire brings the total of states so far called to 30 according to the Associated Press, which still includes Virginia in the column for Biden.
03:49 GMT: CNN has walked back its prediction for Biden taking Virginia. AP, and Fox News have maintained their Biden position for Virginia.
3:45 GMT: Biden is predicted by several sources to take Arizona for the Democrats, the first time since Clinton in 1996- he leads Trump by 8.7% currently.
3:39 GMT: Trump takes Missouri according to the Independent.
Trump now currently has 108 Electoral College votes, while Biden sits at 131, unchanged as of last reported according to AP.
03:15 GMT: Several sources have confirmed that it may take ‘days’ to confirm all votes in some states.
03:08 GMT: Trump has gained a 3% lead in Ohio as votes reach 70% reported.
03:00 GMT: Trump Roundup
So far Donald Trump is predicted to win;
- Louisiana
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Nebraska
- Wyoming
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- West Virginia
Trump currently has 98 Electoral votes
02:57 GMT: Biden roundup
So far Joe Biden is predicted to win;
- New Mexico
- Colorado
- Illinois
- Virginia
- Massachusetts
- Delaware
- Connecticut
- Maryland
- New York
- New Jersey
- Vermont
Biden has 131 Electoral votes.
02:53 GMT: Joe Biden has a 0.6% lead over Donald Trump in North Carolina as vote estimate reaches 84%.
02:51 GMT: Trump enjoys a small lead in Texas as reported votes reach 75%.
02:49 GMT: CNN predicts that Donald Trump will take Alabama and South Carolina.
02:44 GMT: Trump is leading in Florida, Georgia and Michigan.
02:40 GMT: Ohio lead falls
Biden’s lead in Ohio has fallen to 0.3% with 64% votes reported. – Harry Williamson
02:36 GMT: Biden ahead in North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
02:33 GMT: Donald Trump will win North Dakota according to CNN.
02:31 GMT: Joe Biden will take Colorado, according to CNN.
02:30 GMT: Joe Biden will win the District of Columbia according to The New York Times.
02:27 GMT: Trump has a comfortable lead in Florida as estimated votes reach 93%.
02:22 GMT: Ohio – Biden ahead but lead falls
Biden ahead of Trump in Ohio as estimated votes reach 59% but Democratic lead falls. -Harry Williamson
02:17 GMT: CNN and the New York Times are predicting that Joe Biden will win Connecticut.
02:12 GMT: Biden leading in Electoral College votes
As several states are predicted Joe Biden has 119 Electoral College votes and Trump has 93. – Harry Williamson
02:08 GMT: The AP are calling North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana and Wyoming will all be won by Donald Trump.
02:05 GMT: Biden predicted to win New York and New Jersey.
02.00 GMT: Polls in 14 states close
More polls have now closed: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. (21.00 ET) with 156 Electoral Votes up for grabs – Ben Waddell
01.55 GMT: Trump is up to 72 electoral votes, while Biden is still on 85 according to The Associated Press.
– Ben Waddell
01.50 GMT: More important polls will close at (21.00 ET).
Polls in the states off: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming will all come to a close. – Ben Waddell
01.49 GMT: Biden is 10% ahead of Trump in the state of Ohio with 50% reported says the New York Times. – Ben Waddell
01.44 GMT: Exit polls in Florida show gender, and ethnicity breakdown.
In Florida Biden appears to be doing better among women and Trump is doing better among men. While Biden is also doing better among non-white voters, and white voters are favouring Trump says the BBC. – Ben Waddell
01.42 GMT: The Associated Press have claimed Trump is on 61 electoral votes and Biden is still on 85.
– Ben Waddell
01.40 GMT: Biden polling ahead in Ohio with 49% says the New York Time.
– Ben Waddell
01.35 GMT: There has been some signs of disinformation in Pennsylvania.
The BBC have said there has been a small wave of “unsubstantiated claims” of voter fraud and dirty tricks aimed towards the swing state of Pennsylvania. – Ben Waddell
01.32 GMT: Biden is ahead in North Carolina and Ohio.
Biden is also leading by 5% in Texas with 45%.
Source: CNN. – Ben Waddell
01.25 GMT: Trump is projected to win the state of West Virginia.
Source: BBC – Ben Waddell
01.15 GMT: The BBC have predicted Trump to win the state of Tennessee. – Ben Waddell
01.09 GMT: The Associated Press have said both candidates have passed 10 million votes. – Ben Waddell
01.06 GMT: The BBC have projected for Trump to win the state of Kentucky.
While they have projected Biden to win New Jersey. – Ben Waddell
01.00 GMT: CNN has predicted Biden to win Massachusetts, Maryland, Delamere, and the District of Colombia
Trump is predicted to win the state of Oklahoma. – Ben Waddell
00.55 GMT: Many more states polls are closing for tonight at (20.00 ET).
Polls will come to a close in: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. – Ben Waddell
00.51 GMT: Joe Biden records his first state win being Vermont in the 2020 election race. – Ben Waddell
00.50 GMT: States to watch.
Some states to watch are; Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), North Carolina (NC), Ohio (OH) – Ben Waddell
00.30 GMT: Polls have closed in North Carolina and Ohio (19.30 ET)
Polls have now closed in these two states. – Ben Waddell
00.26 GMT: Biden is ahead in polling in Georgia while Trump is ahead in South Carolina.
However, Trump is slightly ahead of Biden in Florida by only 0.5%. – Ben Waddell
00.17 GMT: Polls are due to close in North Carolina and Ohio at 12.30 GMT (19.30 ET)
More polls are about to come to a close in two more states. – Ben Waddell
00.06 GMT: The Associated Press have called Biden will win Vermont. – Ben Waddell
00:00 GMT: Trump predicted to win Indiana
CNN has projected that Donald Trump (R) will win Indiana.
– Harry Williamson
23:56 GMT: Trump ahead in Indiana and Kentucky
Donald Trump is polling ahead in early votes from Indiana and Kentucky.
Estimated 7% of votes reported in Indiana and 12% in Kentucky.
The early results put Trump ahead in the initial popular vote.
– Harry Williamson
23:41 GMT: Delays at South Carolina vote count
A printing error on mail-in ballots for South Carolina has delayed the automatic counting of ~13,000 votes. According to officials, these votes will now be counted by hand, but results will still be in by the deadline on Friday. – Calum Sutherland
Source: The Independent
23:28 GMT: Early results from In. and Ky.
Early results from Indiana and Kentucky are coming in with an estimated 2-3% of votes reporting in each state. – Harry Williamson
23:06 GMT: Polls due to close fully in six states, with partial closure in Florida and New Hampshire by midnight GMT (19:00 ET).
Polls are due to close fully in Indiana and Kentucky, with further polls closing in Georgia, South Carolina and Vermont. Partial closure of polls in Florida and New Hampshire. -Calum Sutherland
23:04 GMT: Polls in parts of Indiana and Kentucky have closed
The first areas to close their polls have now closed. Exit poll results are expected soon, however it is expected that these will be comfortable wins for Donald Trump. We won’t be able to tell much about the overall result from these two states. -Calum Sutherland
22:21 GMT: First exit poll results expected around midnight (19:00 ET)
First US polls to close will be closing at 23:00 (18:00 ET), with results expected by midnight (19:00 ET)
21:14 GMT: Exit Polls expected at 22:00 GMT
CNN are reporting that the first exit polls are expected at 17:00 Eastern Time. (22:00 GMT) – Harry Williamson
20:28 GMT – Brig coverage of the US Presidential Election
Brig Newspaper’s US Election coverage team will be bringing updates from the Presidential Election. Bringing you results from the states and updates from the broadcasters. – Harry Williamson
20:26: Appeal for American Stirling Students
Brig’s election team are looking to talk to American Stirling Students to give us their opinions on the US Election as part of our coverage.
If you are interested please message us on social media or email our Comment Section at comment@brignews.com
20:25 GMT – Meet the Team
Meet Brig Newspaper’s team covering the US Presidential Election.
- Rachel Swan – Politics Editor
- Peter Humfrey – Politics Reporter
- Calum Sutherland – Senior Politics Reporter/Gaming Editor
- Ben Waddell – News Editor
- Iona Brownlie – News Editor
- Megan Taylor – Brig General Reporter
- Iman Mackenzie – Comment Editor
- Kailen Budge – Head of Digital Engagement
- Harry Williamson – Deputy Editor
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