Tuesday, June 3, 2025
The Lagos Today
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
The Lagos Today
No Result
View All Result
Home World News

US election results 2020: When might we get a winner?

by Eucharia Egwuma
November 5, 2020
in World News
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
0
US election results 2020: When might we get a winner?
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Okay, so who is going to be the next president?

We don’t know, because not enough votes have been counted yet for either Donald Trump or Joe Biden to have secured victory.

In fact, because of the time it will take to count the huge number of postal votes cast during this pandemic election, it could take days.

Several key states, including Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, are expected to project a winner at some point on Wednesday or Thursday. With results from these critical states – plus the others who projected winners late on Tuesday – we should have a clearer picture of the likely outcome.

But that’s not all. If there are legal challenges to the results – already threatened by Mr Trump – it might take weeks before a candidate can officially declare victory. This could get tricky.

It’s down to these states

A reminder – to become president you don’t actually need to win the popular vote. Instead, a candidate has to win the majority in a system called the electoral college, where each state gets a certain number of votes or “electors” roughly in proportion to its population. If you win a state, you win its votes (except Nebraska and Maine, but that’s complicated).

There are 538 of these state votes in total – the person who gets 270 will become president. So for both candidates, the road to the White House means a carefully plotted path through states that will get you to this magic number.

And, as per usual, it will all come down to a handful of key battleground states.

Mr Biden has just been projected to win Michigan. He also holds narrow – very narrow – leads in Nevada and Arizona, and CNN, CBS, Fox and the Associated Press have projected a win for him in Wisconsin.

If he’s able to hang on in all these states as final votes are counted, their combined 43 electoral votes from these states will get him to exactly 270. Additional wins in Pennsylvania or Georgia would give some cushion to the Democrat, and leave some room for error.

Poll workers in Michigan
Poll officials in Michigan – now called for Biden – work to tally ballots

For Mr Trump, a path to the presidency will likely pass through Pennsylvania, with its 20 electoral votes. If he pulls off a win here, a win in at least three other remaining states – most likely in Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada or Arizona – could put him back in the White House.

But with voters left to count, and margins on a razor’s edge, this could all change.

Why is it so close?

For starters, it looks like polling data going into this week gave an incomplete picture.

Robert Cuffe, BBC’s head of statistics, says it’s still too early to say whether this election has been a pollster’s nightmare. But we do know that the national poll average did not appear to forecast the nail-biter we find ourselves in now. Final national polls showed Mr Biden leading Mr Trump by about eight points. In battleground states Mr Biden also polled in the lead, but by a much slimmer margin.

Voters celebrate in Florida
Trump supporters celebrate in Florida, where the president clinched a critical win

Voters’ priorities may have also been slightly misjudged. While the coronavirus pandemic has dominated headlines for most of this year, a survey conducted by Edison Research found that only one in five voters considered the virus the top issue influencing their vote. But many more – more than one third of all voters – said the economy was their key issue.

This view may have favoured Mr Trump – those who put the economy and jobs first leaned heavily toward the president.

The story in one line?

Donald Trump is doing better than expected and Joe Biden has failed to win those battleground states which count votes quickly, which means more uncertainty as we wait for a few key states.

And in their own words…

Joe Biden addressed supporters saying: “We’re going to win this” but also urged patience. Donald Trump said Republicans had won and falsely claimed fraud – as we know, votes are still being counted and there is no evidence of fraud.

The other stories you might have missed

With the presidency still hanging in the balance, we’re all on the edge of our seats. But while we wait, here are some other stories you may have missed:

  • A man who died of coronavirus in October has been elected to the North Dakota state legislature. Republican David Andahl, 55, ran a successful primary challenge against a powerful Republican, before waging his campaign in the general. It’s not the first time a dead person has won a US election. In 2018, a brothel owner in Nevada won an election to statewide office after he died.
  • Sarah McBride is set to become the first transgender state senator in the US after winning her race in Delaware. “I hope tonight shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too,” she wrote on Twitter after her win. Ms McBride, 30, joins a new class of LGBTQ lawmakers to make history this election. Oklahoma has elected its first ever non-binary candidate, and Kansas has elected its first trans person of colour.
  • For marijuana users, last night was a clean sweep. State ballot measures in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota all approved recreational marijuana legalisation, and all by roomy margins.
  • Looking for some good news? The US is already on course for the highest electoral turnout in a century.

BBC

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • X

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tags: Joe Biden
Previous Post

COVID-19: Lagos records 85 new cases, with two deaths

Next Post

Saudi Arabia eases ‘kafala’ system restrictions on migrant workers

Eucharia Egwuma

Eucharia Egwuma

Related Posts

The Global Innovation Race: Can Africa Afford to Move Slowly?

by Iyanu Ale
March 3, 2025
0

Africa has long lagged behind the rest of the world in economic development, with an economy smaller than India’s and...

Ethiopia’s Digital Stock Exchange Revolutionizes Trading

Ethiopia’s Digital Stock Exchange Revolutionizes Trading

by Iyanu Ale
January 13, 2025
0

The launch of Ethiopia's first stock exchange in 50 years marks a significant milestone in the country's economic development. This...

Next Post
Saudi Arabia eases ‘kafala’ system restrictions on migrant workers

Saudi Arabia eases 'kafala' system restrictions on migrant workers

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

NAFDAC Embargoes Indian Firm for Selling Fake Drugs to Lagos-based Pharmacy

NDLEA Nabs Kebbi-bound 1.5m Tramadol Tablets

3 years ago

LCCI, MAN Lament Double Taxation in Lagos

4 years ago

Popular News

    Connect with us

    Tags

    #EndSARS 2023 Elections 2023 polls 2023 Presidency ACCIDENT Africa All progressives Congress APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Babajide Sanwo-Olu CBN Central Bank of NIgeria Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Coronavirus pandemic Covid-19 Covid-19 in Lagos Covid-19 in Nigeria Covid-19 Vaccine Cryptocurrency Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Federal Government Federal Government of Nigeria Fraud Gov. Sanwo-Olu House of Representatives Lagos-Ibadan expressway Lagos state Lagos State Government Lagos State House of Assembly Lagos State Police command Muhammadu Buhari Murder Naira NDLEA Nigeria Nigeria Customs Service Nigerian Economy Nigeria Police Force Rape Strike action TECH UK United Kingdom US

    News

    Opinion

    © 2020 The Lagos Today - Nkali.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result

    © 2020 The Lagos Today - Nkali.

    %d