US Election: The states which are now critical in deciding the presidency
There are a number of key states which could determine the outcome of the 2020 US election.
The race to become the next US President has gone down to the wire between Democratic nominee Joe Biden and incumbent Donald Trump.
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According to The Associated Press, Biden currently holds 264 electoral votes from the states he’s won. He needs 270 to get elected.
Trump has 214.
Biden, a former vice-president under Barack Obama, is favoured to return to the White House.
However, there are six states remaining which could determine the winner.
Pennsylvania
Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania holds 20 electoral votes.
He doesn’t exactly need the 20 to get into the White House but it would certainly boost his chances.
Trump has already sought to challenge any late-arriving mail-in ballots to the state in the Supreme Court.
Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt told CNN 350,000 mail-in ballots were still left to count on Wednesday (local time). He added the state allows mail-in votes to be counted and received up until Friday.
“Counting votes cast by mail, if you’re going to do it right and you’re going to do it accurately — because there’s no other choice — takes a little bit of time,” Mr Schmidt said.
“So I know that’s very frustrating.”
Currently, Trump holds a lead in Pennsylvania but it’s dwindled due to mail-in ballots favouring his opponent.
Pennsylvania was narrowly won by the Republicans in the 2016 US Presidential election and Trump is currently ahead in the count with 89 per cent of votes tallied.
While the state didn’t vote for Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton in 2016, it did help get Obama elected in 2012 and 2008.
It was also a Democratic state for the two elections prior to the Obama administration and when Bill Clinton was US President in the ‘90s.
Nevada
Biden holds a slender lead in Nevada which has three quarters of its vote counted.
Should he take Nevada, Biden gets six electoral votes.
We probably won’t get a clear picture of the outcome in Nevada until Thursday (local time).
Clark County, the state's largest and home to Las Vegas, has tallied 84 per cent of expected votes so far and Biden is ahead there 52.9 per cent versus 45.4 per cent for Trump.
Secretary of State communications director Jennifer Russell told CNN results will be released at 12pm which is Friday, 4am AEDT.
Clinton narrowly won Nevada in 2016 before Obama won it in 2012 and 2008.
Before that the state voted for George W Bush in his two terms as US President.
North Carolina
Ninety-four per cent of North Carolina’s votes have been tallied with Trump holding the lead.
The state holds 15 electoral votes.
North Carolina allows mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday to be counted if they are received by November 12.
On Wednesday morning (local time), the Biden campaign said it expected a final result to take several days, and state officials said later on Wednesday that a full result would not be known until next week.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections told CNN it received about 116,000 absentee ballots as of Wednesday afternoon.
The state voted for Trump in 2016 and Republican Mitt Romney in 2012.
However, it also voted for Obama in 2008 after securing Bush’s second term in 2004.
Georgia
Georgia’s vote has nearly been completely counted at 98 per cent.
It’s a tight race too with Trump leading by just over 20,000.
Should Trump win in Georgia, he will get 16 electoral votes. A win here and in North Carolina would secure 31 votes giving him 245.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said he hoped to have a result by the end of Wednesday (local time).
Under Georgia law, if the margin between the candidates is less than or equal to 0.5 percentage points, a candidate may request a recount within two business days following the certification of results.
Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit to require that Chatham County, which includes Savannah, separate and secure late-arriving ballots to ensure they are not counted. The campaign said it had received information that late-arriving ballots in the county were improperly mingled with valid ballots.
Georgia hasn’t voted in a Democratic candidate since Clinton in 1992.
Alaska
Although Alaska holds only three electoral votes it could be the key in a tight race.
With only 50 per cent of its votes counted, Trump holds a strong lead.
According to Alaska Public Media, more than 120,000 Alaskans cast absentee votes with another 40,000 sent out to residents which haven’t been returned.
The late mail-in ballots may not be counted until next week.
Alaska hasn’t voted for a Democratic nominee since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Arizona
Although The Associated Press has called Arizona for Biden the vote hasn’t been entirely counted and Republicans believe it is still up for grabs.
The state has counted 86 per cent of its vote.
The Associated Press said it called the state for Biden because of Maricopa which has shown strong support for the Democrats and still has 338,000 absentee ballots to count, according to CNN.
Maricopa counts for 60 per cent of Arizona’s vote.
Arizona gave its 11 electoral votes to Trump in 2016 and has long been a stronghold for the Republicans due to former party member and presidential nominee John McCain.
with Reuters and The Associated Press
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