WASHINGTON, November 4. /TASS/. The US presidential vote count after the doors close at polling stations around the country does not make it possible to conclude whether incumbent President Donald Trump or Democratic contender Joe Biden will win.
In more than half of US states each presidential hopeful is clinging to real chances for success after the polling stations closed.
Democrat-leaning CNN and its rival Fox News, which is in favor of the Republicans, reported that neither Trump nor Biden had garnered 270 electoral votes needed for winning the presidency. However, The New York Times said Biden had received 85 electoral votes against Trump’s 61.
The vote count showed that Trump has a predictable edge in Indiana (11 electoral votes), Kentucky (8 electoral votes), Tennessee (11 electoral votes), West Virginia (5 electoral votes), Oklahoma (7 electoral votes), Mississippi (6 electoral votes), Missouri (10 electoral votes), Arkansas (6 electoral votes) and Alabama (9 electoral votes), which traditionally back Republicans.
As expected, Biden is in the lead in New England, including Massachusetts (11), Connecticut (7), Illinois (20), New Jersey (14), Virginia (13), Maryland (10), the District of Columbia (3), which are Democratic stronghold states.
Meanwhile, the two rivals did not receive any serious advantages in the battleground states, which will determine the outcome of the race. After lagging behind Biden, Trump retook his lead in two key swing states - Texas (38) and Florida (29). In turn, Biden’s lead is holding in Pennsylvania (20), Ohio (18), Michigan (16) and North Carolina (15). So far, not all ballots have been counted, but if the Democratic contender holds on to the lead in these states, then the Electoral College will help him secure victory in the race for the White House.
However, in some states mail-in votes will be processed for several more days. According to the political portal FiveThirtyEight, the changes in election results in Pennsylvania could mean a 21-percent shift in the overall margin.
Nationwide, American citizens headed to the polls on November 3 to elect 435 representatives to the House, 35 senators out of 100 to the Senate, and the President and Vice President of the United States. The November race for the White House pits Democratic contender Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris against incumbent US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence of the Republican Party. In addition, voters decided on 13 US state and territorial governorships, and numerous other local elections were held.
Due to the coronavirus situation, an unprecedented number of citizens cast their votes by mail or at early in-person polling sites over fears that the virus could spread at busy voting places on Election Day.
To secure a victory, a candidate needs to garner 270 out of 538 electoral votes. Whoever becomes president-elect will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021.