By Ava Dunwoody | Staff Writer
As of 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, former Vice President Joe Biden leads the 2020 election with 264 electoral votes compared to President Donald Trump with 214 votes. Five states remain undecided according to the Associated Press.
The most recent swing states that have gone to Biden are Michigan and Wisconsin, as the two candidates remain within two percentage points in each state.
“It’s clear that we’re winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday afternoon in Wilmington, Del. “I’m not here to declare that we’ve won, but I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.”
Trump, on the other hand, is not so optimistic. After the shift in the polls late last night, the president and his campaign began a series of tweets (labeled misleading by Twitter) and lawsuits aimed at states where the numbers are close.
“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democratic run & controlled,” President Trump said in a tweet. “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!”
So far, the Trump campaign has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia calling for better access for campaign observers to oversee the counting process. Though it is unclear if these lawsuits will stand, President Trump may have reason to be concerned over the small margin of votes calling each state.
Although Biden claimed victory in Wisconsin, he had a slim lead of only 0.6% of the vote.
The states that currently remain undecided are Nevada, Alaska, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. In Nevada, Biden holds a slim lead of 0.6% of the reported vote. Nevada’s six electoral votes could win Biden the election.
According to the New York Times, while it is still unlikely that Trump could win given the current polls, it’s certainly not impossible. If he wins Arizona as he did four years ago and continues his lead in Pennsylvania., North Carolina, Georgia and Alaska, the election would be back in his favor.
McLennan County Republican Party chairman Bradford W. Holland said while the results of the election are delayed, the hard work it takes to run an election should not be discredited. He said he wants Baylor students to understand how much work it takes to even get to this point.
“As a party chair, it’s an amazing amount of volunteer work that goes into this election,” Holland said. “I just don’t think most people realize the number of volunteer hours. If we don’t come out on top on all races tonight, it won’t be because [of a] lack of trying. It will be because we were outnumbered.”
Biden’s confidence in the electoral results also translates into his confidence in the American democracy, he said in his statement Wednesday afternoon.
“If we had any doubts,” Biden said, “we shouldn’t have [doubts] any longer about a government of, by, and for the people. It’s very much alive, very much alive in America. Here, the people rule. Power can’t be taken or asserted. It flows from the people and is their will that determines who will be the President of the United States and their will alone.”
