LIVE UPDATES: ELECTION 2020-Pennsylvania Could Determine Outcome Today
November 5, 2020
Biden could win the presidency if he comes from behind in Pennsylvania on
Thursday. He now trails by nearly two percentage points, but is favored in
remaining mail-in ballots.
U.S. presidential debate, Oct. 22, 2012.
Pennsylvania Could Determine Outcome Today
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
The Pennsylvania secretary of state said Thursday that the state's 20
electoral college votes should be determined by the end of the day, which
could deliver the White House to former Vice President Joe Biden.
Kathy Boockvar told CNN that there are still 550,000 votes, about 100,000 in
Philadelphia, to be counted, all of them mail-in ballots.
Biden has so far won 253 electoral college votes to Trump's 213.
Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes would give Biden 273. A candidate needs
270 to win the presidency.
As of 2 pm Thursday, Trump still leads Biden in the Keystone State by 50.2
percent to 48.5 percent, with 92 percent of the vote counted. That is a
difference of about 116,000 votes in Trump's favor. However that lead is
threatened by the outstanding mail-in ballots, which have heavily favored
Biden.
Earlier in the day the Biden camp said it did not expect a winner to be
declared on Thursday. That was before Boockvar spoke.
Nevada officials said final results from that state, with its six electoral
votes, would not be known until the weekend. Biden leads in Nevada by 49.4
percent to 48.5 percent with 89 percent counted.
Biden also leads in Arizona by two percentage points with 86 percent
counted. If Biden holds on in both states, Nevada's six electoral votes and
Arizona's 11 could also put him over the top.
Meanwhile Trump has been furiously tweeting from the White House, declaring
"STOP THE FRAUD!" and "STOP THE COUNT!"
He also tweeted: "All of the recent Biden claimed States will be legally
challenged by us for Voter Fraud and State Election Fraud. Plenty of proof -
just check out the Media. WE WILL WIN! America First!"
Even if Biden were to win Pennsylvania today and declare victory, Trump is
unlikely to concede anytime soon, allowing his legal challenges and recounts
to proceed. The Trump campaign has already demanded a recount in Wisconsin,
with counting continuing there.
The large number of mail-in ballots have come in the midst of the pandemic.
The Democrats urged their voters not to risk going to the polls and vote by
mail instead. Trump, who has been denying the severity of the virus, did not
encourage mail-in voting.
Instead, his administration tried to cut funding to the Post Office to make
it harder for Democrats to vote. The president has been railing against
voting by mail for months, alleging that it is subject to fraud.
When he saw that he was leading in all swing states on Tuesday night, he
declared victory and demanded the counting be stopped, knowing that his
leads were threatened once the mailed-in ballots were counted.
Biden Wins Michigan and Wisconsin
Wednesday-Joe Biden is projected to win Michigan and Wisconsin, giving him
253 electoral college votes to 213 for Trump. Biden can win if he holds on
to his leads in Nevada and Arizona. It would put him at the needed 270
electoral college votes.
Biden, who is trailing in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, could
lose those states and still win the presidency. Biden spoke in Delaware
today and said "We are not declaring victory, but we believe we will win."
Trump Wants Supreme Court to Stop Counting of Votes While He's Ahead
Wednesday-President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared premature victory and
said he would go to the US Supreme Court to stop the counting so that he
would win key electoral states he is leading in, giving him the presidency.
Speaking from the White House after 2 a.m. Washington time, Trump said there
had been a "major fraud" committed on the American people because "millions
and millions" of mail in ballots were allowed. "Frankly, we did win this
election," he declared.
Biden took over Trump's lead in the swing state of Wisconsin by 49.5 percent
to 48.8 percent with 97 percent of the votes counted; Trump leads in
Pennsylvania by 55 percent to 44 percent with 76 percent counted and in
North Carolina by 50.1 percent to 48.7 percent with 95 percent counted.
Biden took over the lead in Michigan 49.3 percent to 49.1 percent with 90
percent counted.
In states where Biden trails, mail-in ballots are still being counted.
Democrats are dominating the mail-in vote. There are about 1.4 million votes
yet to be counted in Pennsylvania alone.
Biden is leading by 227 to 213 electoral votes, according to a count by The
New York Times. CNN has Biden leading by 224 to 213. A candidate needs 270
electoral votes to win the presidency.
Vice President Mike Pence, who spoke after Trump, appeared to ignore what
the president said, calling for the votes to be counted. There is no way for
Trump to go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop counting, or even for
a recount. These are state matters dealt with by state courts, which can
hear challenges to the counting.
Throughout his presidency Trump has repeatedly made wild statements, both
spoken, and on Twitter, which he quickly reverses. It has made it hard to
often take him seriously. It remains to be seen if Trump continues to pursue
his line of "major fraud" because of the "millions of ballots" sent by mail
that will take time to count.
If an authoritarian leader does not have the people around him to implement
his orders, he is not a dictator, but an isolated fabulist.
Trump has railed against mail-in ballots for months when it became clear
that these would favor Biden. Trump wants the counting to stop so he can be
declared the winner of those battleground states that he leads in, which
would give him at least 270 electoral votes.
If those mail-in ballots tip at least some of these states to Biden, he the
former vice president could win. It would remain to be seen how Trump would
react to that.
A Republican lawyer told CNN that Trump had no way to go to the US Supreme
Court to have the counting stopped. He said such a legal move can only made
in state courts, and that Trump had no basis to demand the counting be
stopped.
Rick Santorum, the former Republican senator, told CNN he was "distressed"
by Trump's statements.
Trump had earlier tweeted that he won the election and that "they" are
trying to steal it. Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein
told CN Live! Thursday night that that was a dangerous signal to violent
Trump supporters.
Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke about two hours earlier to his
supporters, saying he is "feeling good," about winning. "It ain't over until
all the ballots are counted." About 1.4 million mail-in votes have not yet
been counted in Pennsylvania.
Biden said "we are going to win Pennsylvania. It will take time" to count
the votes. "We may know in the morning," he said. "Keep the faith, we are
going to win this."
