After a dramatic night, early Wednesday (Israel time) it was still unclear whether US President Donald Trump or Democratic candidate Joe Biden had won the tense election.
It is expected that the counting of the votes will continue for at least several hours, if not several days.For now, Biden is in the lead, with 224 electoral delegates in contrast to Trump's 213, according to the Associated Press. But his electorates do not come from any key state that he would need to reach 270 and guarantee victory. Some American news outlets have already determined that Trump took Florida, for example. As well as Texas, Ohio and Iowa. These wins help guarantee a second term for the president.
As of early morning Israel time, the biggest question was Pennsylvania. In that state, voting could last a day or more - and in the case of a legal battle even longer. The New York Times explained that all Pennsylvania voters were eligible for the first time to vote by mail. As a result, more than three million ballots were requested statewide — nearly half the total turnout from 2016. The state determined only to start counting the ballots the day of the election, which means they will be counting through the night and day. Until they finish, America will have to wait.
There is also another twist: Pennsylvania law requires that election officials count votes that arrive in the mail up to three days after Election Day, if they are postmarked as sent before Election Day. It is expect that Trump, who knows that most of the mail-in ballots are for Biden, has already made clear that he may legally try to stop the late count. The battle could drag on and make its way all the way to the Supreme Court.
"Pennsylvania epitomizes the divisions, loyalties and shifting political currents of the 2020 presidential race," The Times wrote. "The mostly white battleground state, where four years ago President Trump narrowly became the first Republican to win a presidential contest since 1988, is once again balanced between staunch Republican loyalty in its rural center and a resurgent Democratic Party in its urban and suburban areas." At around 9 a.m. Israel time, Trump had 56% of the state's votes and Biden 41%.In a speech delivered late night in the United States, Biden said that he was on the path to victory, and asked that his supporters "keep the faith."
He added that the results of the election may not be known until Wednesday morning or later, but he is optimistic of the outcome.Soon afterwards, Trump made a speech from the White House, announcing a big win for himself. "The results tonight have been phenomenal," he said to a room of cheering supporters. "Such a success."Trump criticized late voter counting, stating that he does not want "them to find any ballots at 4 o'clock in the morning and add them to the list."Trump predicted he will win a second four-year term and accused Democrats of attempting to "steal" the election from him, without citing any evidence."We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it," Trump tweeted, adding, "A big win" for re-election. His tweets came immediately after a statement from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who said he was optimistic about his prospects of winning.
Twitter Inc flagged Trump's tweet alleging an effort to 'steal the election' as potentially misleading.
"We placed a warning on a Tweet from @realDonaldTrump for making a potentially misleading claim about an election," Twitter said early Wednesday. The Republican president said without evidence that "they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it."
Despite the candidates' claims, neither is victorious yet.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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020
However, there are some likely wins, according to US networks. Trump took Indiana (11 delegates) for example, Tennessee (11), Missouri (10), South Carolina (9), Alabama (9), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Oklahoma ( 7), Mississippi (6), Kansas (6), Arkansas (6), Utah (6), West Virginia (5), Nebraska (4), Idaho (4), Wyoming (3), North Dakota (3) ), Montana (3) and South Dakota (3) Biden won as expected in California (55), New York (29), Illinois (20), New Jersey (14), Virginia (13), Washington (12) , Vermont (3), Massachusetts (11), Maryland (10), Colorado (9), Oregon (7), Connecticut (7), New Mexico (5), Rhode Island (4), Hawaii (4), New Hampshire (4), Maine (3), Delaware (3) and the District of Columbia (3).There are a total of 538 delegates. Whoever gets 270 or more wins the election.