What we know so far about the 2020 US election

Biden has the clearest path to victory

• Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has won 264 of the 270 electoral college votes needed to declare victory, strengthening his lead with wins in Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday. Donald Trump has 214 electoral college votes after gaining one vote in Maine.

• As of 11pm ET, Biden holds a lead in Nevada, which has six electoral college votes – just enough to get him over the line.

US election 2020 live results: Donald Trump takes on Joe Biden in tight presidential race

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• Trump’s lead in Georgia began to narrow late on Wednesday, and as more postal votes are counted Biden could flip the state and win its 16 electoral college votes. More Georgians voted by mail than voted in total in 2016 and these mail-in ballots could skew blue.

• Biden could also net Pennsylvania, which would gain him 20 votes, although counting in the state is expected to continue for quite a while.

• Addressing supporters at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said it was “clear” he would hit the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. “I’m not here to declare that we won, but I am here to report that when the count is finished, we will be the winner,” Biden said.

It is still possible for Trump to win

• Alaska has not yet been called for Trump, but the result is not in doubt: he is expected to win its three electoral college votes, taking him to 217.

• In order to secure the other 53 votes he requires for victory, he would need to win all four remaining states and their 57 votes: Nevada (six votes), North Carolina (15), Georgia (16), and Pennsylvania (20).

What is happening in Arizona?

• The Associated Press and several other news organisations have called Arizona (with its 11 electoral college votes) for Biden on Wednesday, although other outlets, including NBC, have refrained from doing so. The Guardian relies on the AP to call states.

• While Biden’s lead in Arizona narrowed slightly on Wednesday night , at 9pm ET, with 86% of the estimated votes counted, he held 50.7% of the votes.

• The Trump campaign has falsely claimed that it has won Arizona and on Wednesday night, Trump supporters descended on the Phoenix state capitol and chanted “Shame on Fox” after the TV news channel also declared Biden the winner in the state.

When will we have a winner?

• Nevada is expecting to update its results on Thursday at midday ET. Pennsylvania won’t be finished counting before Friday.

• Georgia could be called on Wednesday night.

• As of 11pm ET, Georgia had 2% of its votes left to count (around 100,000 votes) and Trump was ahead by more than 31,000 votes. Results have partly been delayed by a burst pipe at a count centre in Fulton county, which meant the counting process stopped briefly. It has since resumed, and Fulton is expected to have the results of at least 36,000 votes by midnight.

Trump is threatening to sue his way to re-election

• Trump and his campaign have sued to halt vote-counting in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, which have not yet been called by Associated Press, and Michigan, which AP called for Biden.

• Trump’s campaign has also requested a recount in Wisconsin, which AP called for Biden.

• There is no evidence the campaign’s legal challenges will have a bearing on the election result under the law.