Biden inches closer to the Presidency with just 2 EC vote lead over Trump

Trump cries foul moves local, district courts and US Supreme Court demanding recount in Wisconsin. He has filed similar law suits in Georgia and Michigan.

@prashanthamine

Mumbai: From the official vote count trends at the Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) from where the official results are being announced for the 2020 US Presidential elections, Democrat nominee Joe Biden has touched the magic 270 majority mark needed to become the 46^th President of the United States of America. But, according to the poll forecasts, Biden has a just 2 Electoral College (EC) vote lead over Republican and incumbent President Donald Trump. The Trump campaign has already filed lawsuits in local, district courts and in the US Supreme Court demanding recount in Wisconsin and alleging vote fraud in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Biden has secured 253 Electoral College (EC) votes, needs just 17 more votes to reach the majority mark of 270 EC votes which he is certain to get from Nevada 6 and Arizona 11 votes. Whereas, Trump who has secured 214 EC votes is projected to get 54 EC votes from Alaska 3, Georgia 16, North Carolina 15 and Pennsylvania 20 votes. In the final analysis Trump is likely to get 268 EC votes, which is just not enough to retain his Presidency.

The Decision Desk HQ has not yet declared results for Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Barring Alaska where just 57.7% votes have been counted so far, counting of Presidential poll votes is in its final stages and is certain results in the other 5 states.

Also Read: Last five big states and probably US Supreme Court to decide fate of 2020 Presidential polls

But the Presidency may not be a smooth ride for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as the Republicans will have a slender lead in the Senate. The Republicans have bagged 48 seats, while the Democrats have bagged 47 seats. The majority mark in the Senate is 51 seats.

In the House of Representatives (Congress) the Democrats have bagged 195 seats as against 186 seats by the Republicans. The majority mark in the Congress is 218 seats and a difference of just 9 seats. What is significant to note here that in this election to the Congress, the Democrats have suffered a loss of 5 seats. The Republicans have gained 5 seats at the expense of the Democrats.

In terms of the Popular Vote share, Biden has got 7,16,24,388 crore votes which is 50%. The vote share is reported to be the highest for any Presidential candidate in recent years. Trump on the other hand has got 6,84,66,171 crore votes which is 48%.

Late on Wednesday evening, Trump had claimed victory in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Trump campaign team has filed lawsuits demanding recounts in Wisconsin, lawsuits in Michigan and Pennsylvania to halt the counting of votes. The Republicans have filed another lawsuit in Georgia seeking to separate out late-coming Mail-in-Ballot.

The Trump campaign team has alleged a large number of ballots being secretly dumped in Michigan. In Fulton County in Georgia, the Republicans alleged their poll observers were asked to leave the counting center after being told that they were winding up, but later were accused of secretly counting ballots. The Trump campaign team has also moved the US Supreme Court arguing that the Pennsylvania vote could decide the Presidency.

It remains to be seen as to what stance the courts take, if a recount is ordered in Wisconsin and counting is halted in Pennsylvania, it could well mean further delay in the final result. If the lawsuits of the Republicans are rejected, then it’s Biden’s Presidency. He has already begun preparing for the transition office.

What has surprised many critics and pollsters alike is that Trump who was written off and destined to lose by a huge margin to Biden, has put up a tough fight and narrowed down the lead to just 2 EC votes. A recount of votes could just well upset Biden’s march to the White House.