US Elections 2020: Joe Biden wins Wisconsin, Michigan, Trump's lead in Georgia, Pennsylvania narrows
The US Presidential race is in its last leg and presently Joe Biden is leading with 264 electoral votes, while incumbent President Donald Trump is still at 213. In a major relief for the Democrats, the tight contest in Michigan and Wisconsin, two key battleground states, has ended with Joe Biden claiming victory in both the states.
In another shocker for President Trump, his huge lead in Pennsylvania has thinned down to just a little over 160,000 votes. Trump's lead in Georgia has also narrowed to just 28,521. Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona would play a crucial role in deciding the final winner.
However, the counting of votes in these states may take longer, as some of them are still receiving the mail-in ballots. President Trump has been trying to stop the counting but the states plan to continue to count till each vote is counted.
If elected, 78-year-old Joe Biden would be the oldest president in US history at his inauguration. Trump, who is currently 74, would also be the oldest president ever if he wins a second term.
Who is leading currently?
Clearly, Joe Biden is much ahead of Donald Trump right now with his major victories in Michigan and Wisconsin. He is also leading in Nevada by 7,647 votes and trailing with a very small margin in Georgia and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is yet to count roughly around 765,000 mail-in ballots out of the total 2.6 million votes. If the current trends continue then Joe Biden is likely to be the next President of the United States.
Can Donald Trump still win?
Yes, the current US President, Donald Trump still has a chance to win if he wins in all the remaining swing states- Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
What are mail-in ballots and why are they important?
The mail-in ballots are the votes sent over by citizens through mail and they are also called as Absentee votes. Every US state has a different rule regarding these votes. Some of them count them first, while the others count them after counting the votes polled on the main election day.
In most of the main battleground states including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the mail-in votes are being counted last. These votes can be a game-changer for Joe Biden and may change the current figures as they did in Michigan and Wisconsin with both of them turning blue. Most of these mail-in ballots are expected to be by the democrat supporters and loyalists.
Donald Trump's 2016 victory was largely powered by his in these battleground states. However, this time around the battles in all these states is expected to be closer than last time. Trump spent almost entire of October 31 rallying in Pennsylvania which is a key battleground state and also a must-win for Trump. Biden is currently leading from the state.
Why battleground states are important?
Most states almost always vote the same way, which means that there are only a few states where both candidates stand an equal chance of winning and these states, where the election is won or lost, are known as the battleground states. The battleground states play the deciding role in the main election results.
In the 2016 US Presidential Elections, Hillary Clinton led the polls and won almost three million more votes than Donald Trump, but she still lost the elections because the US uses an electoral college system.
Under the US electoral college system, winning the most votes do not always help the candidate win the elections, it is where they win the votes from that is key for the final victory.
What is the US electoral college system?
The United States uses the electoral college system to elect its President. Under the US electoral college system, each state is given a number of votes based on how many members it sends to Congress House and Senate.
Overall, a total of 538 electoral college votes are up for grabs, so a candidate needs to hit 270 to win. Some of the battleground states have more electoral college votes on offer than others, so how the state vote plays a huge role to determine the final results.
