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US election results: Joe Biden ahead as vote counting continues; Donald Trump dealt legal setback

Joe Biden leads the US presidential race with a final call expected in a key state today as Donald Trump was dealt a blow in his bid to block voting ballots.

If Georgia or Pennsylvania flip to Biden, 'the race is over'

Democrat challenger Joe Biden edged closer to victory with counting in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania on track to finish with a potential announcement today.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said the outstanding 550,000 votes were being counted today.

But it looks likely Nevada and Arizona will not be able to finalise their counting until Friday US time.

As Donald Trump ramped up his claims of voter fraud, Democrat Joe Biden’s lead narrowed in Arizona - which has controversially been called in his favour by some media outlets.

Team Trump says he has won in Pennsylvania and Arizona, despite no call yet in the former and the Associated Press and Fox News sticking by their early call on Arizona.

However, he suffered a legal setback in Georgia when a judge threw out his attempt to block ballots received after 7pm on election day.

As his lawyers launched a flurry of legal challenges in battleground states and Mr Biden surged, Mr Trump was uncharacteristically quiet, hunkering down at the White House as chaotic scenes played out across the country.

Mr Biden exceeded the popular vote lead Hillary Clinton held over Mr Trump in 2016 and racked up electoral college votes that put him within spitting distance of the presidency.

Mr Trump held a diminishing lead in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina while Nevada was leaning towards Mr Biden.

Controversy surrounds the count in Arizona, which only Fox News and Associated Press have called in Mr Biden’s favour and which Team Trump says he can still win.

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Vote counting update in Pennsylvania narrows race

Shoba Rao

New ballots have been counted in Pennsylvania, placing Donald Trump on 3,285,445 andJoe Biden on 3,262,869.

Trump now leads Biden by 22,576 votes, down from 26,319. There are still more than 150,000 votes to be counted.

Wild scenes at pro-Trump protests

Nadia Salemme

Chaotic protests are escalating across the United States with Donald Trump’s supporters taking to the streets of Detroit and Los Angeles in opposition to the election count.

With defeat looming, Trump launched multiple legal challenges, announcing lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania and demanding a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden won by 20,000 votes.

In Detroit, a Democratic stronghold city that is mostly black, Trump supporters chanted “Stop the count!” and tried to barge into an election office before being blocked by security.

An aggressive pro-Trump crowd also gathered outside a vote counting office in the Arizona county of Maricopa, which includes Phoenix.

The protesters, some of whom were carrying guns – as is legal in the state – chanted “Count the votes!”, as law enforcement officers formed a protective line at the facility’s doors.

– with AFP

Donald Trump's tweets censored

Shoba Rao

Twitter has hidden almost half of all tweets made by US President Donald Trump today, adding warning labels that they may contain “misleading” information about the US election. 

The social network — arguably one of Mr Trump’s favourite public platforms — has added labels to six out of 13 messages his team posted to the site on November 6 in Australia. 

The hidden tweets did not just include words but video shared by the President from a news conference in which he called some US states “corrupt” and accused his political rivals of “trying obviously to commit fraud”. 

Twitter’s message warned that “some or all of the content shared in this tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process”.

Twitter users are still able to read Mr Trump’s messages after clicking on the warning message, though some of his online fans have today accused the social network of censoring the US leader.

The same video messages from Mr Trump have gone largely untouched on Facebook, but feature a message beneath the footage that warns “election results have taken longer this year” and that the US “has laws, procedures, and established institutions to ensure the integrity of our elections”. 

Social media posts by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden have yet to be hidden on Twitter, though he has largely used the platform to call for “patience,” for votes to be counted, and for donations to a legal fighting fund.

– Jennifer Dudley Nicholson

Biden, Trump neck-and-neck in Georgia

David Aidone

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are now at a virtual tie in Georgia, with the US President just 1902 votes ahead of Mr Biden.

Both candidates have 49.4 per cent of the vote.

Biden's lead in Arizona narrows

David Aidone

Donald Trump is gaining ground in Arizona as more votes come in from Republican-leaning Maricopa county.

Mr Trump has so far secured 48.5 per cent of votes in the state, while 50.1 per cent has flowed to Mr Biden.

The Democrat is about 46, 250 votes ahead of Mr Trump.

Arizona is proving to be particularly contentious in the race to the White House.

Fox News and the Associated Press are have called the state in Mr Biden's favour, but Team Trumpbelieves they can still win it.

Republican officials are yet to launch any legal action over the vote count in Arizona.

'The votes will be counted': Romney responds to Trump's remarks

David Aidone

Republican senator and former presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has said all votes must be counted.

Responding to Trump's allegations of voter fraud and "illegal ballots", Romney said: "Counting every vote is at the heart of our democracy. That process is often long and, for those running, frustrating.

"The votes will be counted. If there are irregularities alleged, they will be investigated and ultimately resolved in the courts. Have faith in democracy, in our Constitution, and in the American people."

Romney and Trump have had a strained relationship throughout the US President's first term.

He was the sole Republican senator to vote to convict Trump in his impeachment trial.

Trump Jr calls Biden win "a statistical impossibility"

David Aidone

A crowd of supporters chanting "Georgia is rigged" was the backdrop to Donald Trump Jr's latest press conference.

The President's oldest son appeared minutes after Mr Trump's White House press conference, where he once again claimed to have won the 2020 election and alleged mass voter fraud and voter suppression was taking place.

Talking alongside Georgian republicans Doug Collins and Vernon Jones, Trump Jr issued a scathing attack on his father's party, saying Americans had been failed by a Republican party that "has not had a backbone." 

"You are not going to see that this time around. That party is gone and anyone that does not fight like that should go with it," Trump Jr said. 

The 42-year-old called a Biden win "a statistical impossibility", echoed his family's theory of voter fraud, and vowed that his father would fight "each and every one of these battles to the death". 

"If they are winning these things fair and square then we would love to know that because me, as an American, I would like to know that because I have lost all faith in the process." 

Prior to Trump Jr speaking, Vernon Jones suggested Democrats were attempting to suppress votes in a bid to stop suburban women and people of colour voting for the Republican Party, and attacked rival Stacey Abrams of using donor contributions to suppress the black vote. 

"What you're trying to do is keep them on that plantation," Mr Jones said of Ms Abrams. 

Mr Vernon also made a remark many are reading as a dog whistle to Trump's base, saying, "We are starting now to see the white in their eyes and we are getting ready now to start shooting."

– Katy Hall

TV networks cease Trump broadcast

David Aidone

Three US television networks cut away from Donald Trump who once again falsely claimed victory while delivering an update.

ABC, CBS and MSNBC all stopped broadcasting the US President's speech.

MSNBC anchor Brian Williams said: “Here we are again in the unusual position of not only interrupting the president of the United States but correcting the president of the United States.”

Trump's lead shrinks in pivotal Georgia

David Aidone

As Trump was claiming the election was fraudulent, his lead in reliably Republican Georgia shrank to just 3,700 votes. 

He refused questions at the end of his statement, stalking out of the White House press briefing room.

– Sarah Blake in Washington D.C.

Read related topics:Donald TrumpJoe Biden

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Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/us-election-results-joe-biden-ahead-as-vote-counting-continues-donald-trump-dealt-legal-setback/news-story/0ff5ed30bc4dd1283b0fa110d6b3ee78