Election 2020 presidential results

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Fernando Alfonso III, Veronica Rocha and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 1020 GMT (1820 HKT) November 6, 2020
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4:50 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Biden takes the lead in Georgia

Democratic hopeful Joe Biden has taken the lead in Georgia over President Trump.

Trump cannot afford to lose Georgia's 16 electoral votes if he is to keep alive his hopes of a second term.

Trump cannot find a route to 270 electoral votes without Georgia and Pennsylvania, so his chances of securing reelection will hinge on developments in the two states.

4:46 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Here's where the vote count stands in Pennsylvania 

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

With no new numbers coming in for hours, there remains 163,501 uncounted absentee ballots in the state of Pennsylvania, CNN's Kristen Holmes reported early this morning.

So far, mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania have heavily favored Joe Biden over President Trump even in Republican areas, meaning there are more than enough ballots for the former vice president to overtake the President's narrow 18,000-vote margin.

"Any Democrat who is looking at this ... they're feeling very good about where they stand right now," said Holmes.

In Philadelphia Country 305,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted and there are 60,000 left to count. In Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, there remain 36,000 mail-in ballots to be counted.

CNN's Kristen Holmes has more:

4:18 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Catch up: Here's where things stand in the race to 270

From CNN's Maeve Reston and Stephen Collinson

AP/Getty Images
AP/Getty Images

Ballots are still being counted in several key states, with elections officials expected to provide updates later today.

Joe Biden holds a 253-213 lead in the Electoral College. In addition to Arizona, GeorgiaNevada, and Pennsylvania, the races in Alaska and North Carolina remain still too close to call.

If you're just reading in, here's what you need to know about the race:

All eyes on the Keystone State: Pennsylvania, the state that could take Biden over the 270-vote threshold needed to win the presidency, could complete most of its outstanding counts on Friday, officials there said. The former vice president is only behind President Trump by a little more than 18,000 votes in the Keystone State after having trailed at one point by more than half a million ballots in the hours after polls closed. Tens of thousands of votes — most of them from strongly Democratic areas, including around Philadelphia — remain to be counted.

Race tightens in Georgia: In Georgia, another state that Trump cannot afford to lose with its 16 electoral votes, Biden's mail-in ballot advantage has pulled him to within 500 votes of the President, as results came in from Fulton County around Atlanta with 99% of the state vote count reported. Trump cannot find a route to 270 electoral votes without Georgia and Pennsylvania, so his chances of securing reelection will hinge on developments in the two states in the coming hours.

Trump mounts aggressive legal strategy: Trump's team, seeking to keep his slim path to victory alive, has launched a flurry of sometimes contradictory and scattershot legal challenges, without offering evidence of irregularities, demanding vote counts continue in states where he is behind and wanting them shut down in those where he leads.

Trump stages corrosive attempt to undermine votes: On Thursday night, Trump effectively sent a signal that he has no intention of leaving power without a fight if he ends up losing the election. The President's speech from the White House briefing room could end up being one of the most dangerous presidential statements in American history. In it, Trump falsely claimed that votes that were cast before and during the election, but counted after Election Day, are illegal votes.

Biden urges calm: The former vice president emerged in Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday for a short speech meant to project optimism, urge patience in the vote counting and to apparently create a picture of a presidency in waiting. "In America, the vote is sacred. It is how the people of this nation express their will," he said, calling for calm and patience as the vote counting process unfolds.

3:53 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Here's who is leading in the 5 key states

We're tracking the narrow margins of votes in key states. Here are the latest figures:

The latest vote totals show President Trump's lead narrowing in Georgia. He's leading Joe Biden by 463 votes there.

Biden currently has 253 electoral votes, and Trump has 213.

Remember: Each candidate needs to reach 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Get full details and results in CNN's Election Center.

2:41 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Clayton County's final 3,500 mail-in ballots will be counted within "hours," says elections director

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

Clayton County in Georgia has just 3,500 of its 30,000 mail-in and provisional ballots left to count, the director of the county's board of elections, Shauna Dozier, told CNN early this morning. 

She said her team does not plan to break until every ballot is counted, which should be within hours.

"We are going to stay here until every single absentee ballot is counted," she told CNN's Chris Cuomo. "We are going to continue forward ... whatever it takes to get that done, we're going to do it. We're committed."

Dozier also asked for patience from the American people, saying her office received just 3,170 absentee ballots in 2016, compared to 30,000 this year.

Once the mail-in ballots have been counted, the only remaining uncounted votes from the county will be military ballots, which are due at 5 p.m. ET Friday. Dozier said she was unaware of how many military ballots officials may receive. 

Clayton County, a suburb of Atlanta which trends Democratic, could put President Trump's path to the presidency in serious peril, CNN's John King noted earlier this evening. 

CNN's Chris Cuomo speaks to Shauna Dozier:

2:00 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

It's 2 a.m. ET. Here's who is leading in the 5 key states.

We're tracking the narrow margins of votes in key states. See the latest figures below, and get full details and results in CNN's Election Center.

Joe Biden currently has 253 electoral votes, and President Trump has 213.

Remember: Each candidate needs to reach 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

1:57 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Much of the Biden team is still up monitoring results, especially from Pennsylvania

From CNN's Jason Carroll

Even at this late hour, much of the Biden team is up monitoring the results coming in- especially those results from Pennsylvania, a source familiar tells CNN.

The feeling is Friday could be the day that Biden reaches 270. Though it has been said before, the campaign reiterated that when all the votes are counted Biden will have a decisive win in the state.

Why the state matters: There are 20 electoral votes at stake in Pennsylvania. President Trump cannot be reelected if he doesn't win there, no matter how many other states he wins. Biden currently has 253 electoral votes, and President Trump has 213.

1:43 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

This is where the balance of power stands in the Senate

From CNN's Josiah Ryan

As results from congressional races continue to filter in, here's how the balance of power in the Senate looks right now.

Republicans have sharply cut Democrats' chances of taking back the Senate, winning a series of contests across the country on the coattails of President Trump.

Democrats currently have won 47 seats with one pickup in Colorado, while Republicans have won 47 seats with one pick up in Alabama.

There are currently are four undecided races in the Senate. Either side needs 51 seats to control the upper chamber, or 50 if their presidential candidate wins, since the vice president may cast a deciding vote. 

In the House, Democrats have 208 seats and Republicans have 196. The party that has at least 218 seats will control that chamber.

Here's what we know about the undecided Senate races:

Arizona: The former astronaut Democrat Mark Kelly holds a comfortable lead over Sen. Martha McSally, the Republican incumbent, with a 103,000 vote advantage with 89% of the vote now in. 

Georgia: Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue is 101,000 votes ahead of Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff with 10,000 ballots remaining to be counted. Perdue has a 2.1% advantage but remains 0.1% short of the majority required under Georgia to avoid a runoff election on Jan. 5.

Georgia special election: Democratic candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock is leading Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler by 329,000 but is far shy of the 50% percent majority required to win the seat outright and avoid a runoff. That seat is headed for a special election on Jan. 5.

Alaska: With 47% of the vote in, incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan leads Democrat Al Gross with 108,488 votes to 54,755.

1:36 a.m. ET, November 6, 2020

Report: Police investigating alleged plot to attack Pennsylvania Convention Center

From CNN’s Joe Sutton and Dave Alsup

Police are investigating a potential attack plot at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, first reported by CNN affiliate WPVI.

“Police got a tip about a group, possibly a family, driving up from Virginia in a Hummer to unleash an attack at the Convention Center,” according to WPVI.  

Philadelphia Police tells WPVI "they recovered a weapon and believed they recovered the Hummer they received a tip about.”

Votes are being counted inside of the convention center.  

Police tell CNN affiliate KYW they were alerted to the threat around 10 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The threat involved a group of individuals from out of state, police tells KYW.   

At least one person has been taken into custody, both WPVI and KYW reports.  

Philadelphia district attorney's office spokesperson Jane Roh told CNN the office could not comment on the investigation.

CNN has reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department, FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the convention center for comment. 

CNN's Alexandra Field has more: