When we will know who has won the US election

The race for the White House is still too close to call. With a backlog of mail-in votes, this is when you can expect to learn who wins it all.

Joe Biden has urged his followers to remain patient, but it’s a message the rest of the world might need to heed, too.

A backlog of mail-in votes has delayed the result in a knife-edge election where a small handful of states stand between victory and defeat.

On Wednesday afternoon (local time) Michigan and Wisconsin were called for Mr Biden but Pennsylvania was still up for grabs.

The result means Mr Biden only needs to win one state – Nevada with just six votes – in order to gain the 270 electoral votes he needs to claim victory.

Hopes are high for Nevada, where Mr Biden has a slim lead. It was reported that the state would release extra data today but it now looks like they will wait until early Friday morning (Australian time).

If Mr Biden wins Nevada, it’s game over for Mr Trump.

The path to the White House is much harder for US President Donald Trump. He will need to win Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. On top of that he would need Nevada or Arizona, which Fox News and AP have already called for Mr Biden.

Failing that, Mr Trump would need a challenge of the results in Wisconsin or Michigan to be successful.

The counting will continue despite Mr Trump making an extraordinary and unprecedented claim of “fraud” and insisting postal votes lodged legitimately should be discounted.

He foreshadowed a Supreme Court challenge which could drag the result out even further.

Mr Biden, who addressed supporters just before midnight in Wilmington, Delaware, on Election Night said he was confident the result would fall his way.

“We are feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan. And, by the way, it is going to take time to count the votes. We are going to win Pennsylvania.”

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We may not know the result of today’s US election for several days. Picture: Morry Gash and Jim Watson/AFP

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But Mr Trump would not allow that sort of chest thumping without a Trump-esque response.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, he boasted: “We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.

“So our goal now is to ensure the integrity for the good of this nation, this is a very big moment, this is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner.

“So we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add them to the list, OK?

“It’s a very sad — it’s a very sad moment. To me this is a very sad moment. And we will win in. As far as I’m concerned, we already have won it, so I just want to thank you for your support.”

We feel good about where we are. We believe we are on track to win this election.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 4, 2020

I will be making a statement tonight. A big WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020

RESPECTIVE PATHS TO THE WHITE HOUSE

There was no election night win for Mr Trump this time around, whatever he might have you believe. Instead, we are left with an incomplete picture of who America wants to lead.

Mr Trump claimed Florida despite Mr Biden leading early.

He also won in Indiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma Nebraska, Louisiana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Ohio, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee.

For the Democratic Party, victories were confirmed in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, Connecticut, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Arizona and California.

‘YOUR PATIENCE IS COMMENDABLE’

Mr Biden told supporters on Tuesday that it would be a long night, but even he didn’t expect the race to drag on this long.

“We knew this was going to go long, but who knew we were going to go into tomorrow morning, maybe longer?” he said.

“We feel good about where we are. We believe we’re on track to win this election.

“We’re going to have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is completed. And it ain’t over until every vote is counted. But we’re feeling good about where we are.

“We’re still in the game in Georgia. And we’re feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan.

“It’s going to take time to count the votes, but we’re going to win Pennsylvania.

“We could know the results as early as tomorrow, maybe a little longer.

“It’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare who has won the election, that’s the place of the American people.

“Keep the faith guys, and we’re going to win this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”