US Election: Biden or Trump, what's the latest?

Polls closed across the US on Tuesday night and early results from the presidential election between incumbent Republican Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden show a tight race in a number of battleground states.

What is the latest?

• Votes are still being counted in several key states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan as ballots that were cast before Election Day that have yet to be counted and no winner has been determined in the presidential election.
• President Donald Trump wins the swing state: Florida while Joe Biden wins the state of Arizona.
• Trump falsely declared victory in the race. He threatened to challenge the election results and would take the election to the Supreme Court to stop the counting.
• Biden campaign manager says its lawyers are standing by if Trump goes to court over the vote.

Who is leading?

• A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. So far, Biden has 224 electoral votes and Trump has 213. (as of 5pm MYT)
• States that called for Biden so far: Arizona, Minnesota, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington State.
• Meanwhile, Trump was posting similar expected victories in: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

Swing states?

There are nine swing states, also known as battlegrounds where these states are likely to decide who is the next president.

Florida and Pennsylvania is important to the 2020 U.S. election, as these states have been referred to by most experts as the ‘make or break’ for the presidential candidates.

As things stand, Donald Trump is ahead in the remaining five of these and has won two and lost two:

• Arizona - Biden wins
• Florida - Trump wins
• Georgia - 94 per cent reported, Trump lead (2.8 per cent)
• Michigan - 78 per cent reported, Trump lead (5.8 per cent)
• Minnesota - Biden wins
• North Carolina - 94 per cent reported, Trump lead (1.4 per cent)
• Pennsylvania - 64 per cent reported, Trump lead (12.7 per cent)
• Texas - Trump wins
• Wisconsin - 94 per cent reported, Trump lead (3.6 per cent)

Voter turnout?

• According to the US Elections Project and experts, it is predicted that voter turnout could be as high as 67%.
• More than 101 million people voted early, which is equivalent to 73% of the total votes cast in 2016.
• This is on course to record the highest voter turnout since 1900.

Votes for the US Congress?

The US is not just voting for their next president but also candidates for the US Congress (House of Representatives and Senate).

Whoever wins the White House won’t be governing alone, as laws in the US are voted on by the Congress.

• US House of Representatives: Democratic 177, Republican 171 (218 to win)

US Senate: Democratic 46, Republican 47 (50 to win)