US 2020 election
As the US presidential election enters its final stretch, rivals Donald Trump and Joe Biden have very different routes to claim power.
In a close-fought campaign which upset predictions from polling data, President Trump must win all the states yet to declare.
Former Vice President Joe Biden — who had been widely tipped to win comfortably — is closing in on the 270 votes needed in the electoral college to become president-elect.
The Democrat challenger would need to win just two of the six states available (except Alaska) — Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump would need five of them.
The eventual outcome is almost certain to come down to millions of mail-in votes, the counting of which has seen President Trump’s early lead whittled away.
Joe Biden is slightly ahead in Nevada, with the result just hours away.
Trump’s path to victory
The President needs to take Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada on his arduous route to victory.
As of Thursday morning, he currently leads in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where he won in 2016.
However, Trump’s lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania has been steadily reduced while the postal ballots are counted.
Alaska, with only three votes in the electoral college, is expected to back Trump.
Possible routes to power for Joe Biden and Donald Trump
Biden’s path to victory
Biden’s chances of victory were significantly boosted after taking Michigan, with victory in any other state now guaranteeing him the presidency.
By Thursday morning, Trump was still ahead in Pennsylvania, but his lead had reduced from around 700,000 to 165,000. Many of the votes remaining to be counted there were mail-in ballots from Philadelphia and its suburbs, where Democrats have historically enjoyed an electoral advantage.
Similarly, in Georgia President Trump’s early lead had reduced to around 23,000 by Thursday morning.
Officials in Nevada, where Joe Biden has a thin lead of around 8,000 votes, said they would not resume counting ballots until Thursday morning.
US 2020 election table
What happens if neither candidate gets 270 votes?
A candidate must receive an absolute majority of electoral votes (currently 270) to win the presidency or the vice presidency.
If no candidate receives a majority in the election for president or vice president, that election is determined via a contingency procedure established by the 12th Amendment.
In such a situation, the House chooses one of the top three presidential electoral vote-winners as the president, while the Senate chooses one of the top two vice presidential electoral vote-winners as vice president.
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