US Elections 2020: Initial trends in, Trump leading in Electoral College votes
Nov 04, 2020
Washington [US], November 4 : As the US presidential polls draw closer to a conclusion, initial trends at polling show US President Donald Trump holding the lead in the Electoral College votes at the early stage, with a 42-30 lead over Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Trump is projected to win in the states of Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee, while his rival Biden is projected to win Vermont, Delaware, Washington, DC, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, reported CNN.
91 per cent of votes have been reported in the state of Florida, which has one of the highest number of electoral votes among swing states at 29.
Trump is currently leading Biden by 2 points in Florida, while Biden has managed to hold a good lead over the President in Pennsylvania.
CNN reported that as of 9 pm ET (7:30 pm IST), Biden currently has a lead in North Carolina, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Texas, while the President has the lead in Florida, Michigan, Georgia, and Virginia.
Ohio, Michigan, Texas and Pennsylvania account for 92 electoral votes while swing states like Florida, North Carolina and Georgia hold 60 electoral votes.
Each candidate needs to secure a minimum of 270 out of 538 electoral votes to win the White House again.
Voters are deciding between Trump and his Democratic challenger Biden, along with all 435 seats of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate.
If elected, Biden would be the oldest president in US history at his inauguration, at age 78. Trump, who is currently 74, would also be the oldest president ever if he wins a second term.
Some 239 million people are eligible to vote this year. The mail-in ballots could take days to be counted - meaning a winner might not be declared in the hours after polls close on Tuesday.
