Information obtained as of 11/6/20 at 4:00 p.m.

On November 3rd, millions of Americans went out to the polls to vote in-person. The next day, many expected to wake up to the final results. However, that was not the case this election year. The presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden remains uncalled as of Friday, November 6.

Election officials have stated that it would take much longer to count votes due to the “pandemic-driven surge of mailed ballots.” Along with that, legal fights for recounts could potentially slow the process down even more.

There are four undecided swing states and Biden is narrowly leading three of the four with 264 electoral votes while Trump has 214 electoral votes and leads one of the four swing states. Trump will need to win all four of the undecided swing states in order to secure a second term. However, Biden will need only one of the four swing states to win the election.

• Georgia’s election officials have stated that a final result is to be expected by the end of the day, also headed for a recount
• Trump’s campaign filed lawsuits in Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania asking for a recount and to slow down the count. However, judges in Georgia and Michigan refused.
• Pennsylvania judge grants election observers better access to areas counting ballots.
• Biden leads in Pennsylvania, a state in which Trump needs to win

With only 6 electoral votes needed for Biden to win the election, several Americans have turned to Nevada, who has exactly 6 electoral votes. However, the state remains undecided, leading many to criticize the speed of those counting the votes.

Joe Gloria, registrar of voters for Clark County, Nevada stated, “Our goal here in Clark County is not to count fast,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re being accurate.”

On Thursday night, President Trump said, “If you count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us. If you count the votes that came in late, we’re looking at them very strongly.” According to BBC news, these false claims have led many election officials from various states to reassure Americans that “every postal ballot goes through several steps to be verified, such as a signature and address check”.

Overall, a winner isn’t likely to be declared this week as many states are still too close to call.

**Update: As of Saturday, November 7, major news outlets have declared Biden the winner of the 2020 election. Formal certification of election results will come in the next few weeks on a state-by-state basis.