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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1:39 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Michigan state judge dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit about canvassing observation

From CNN's Jessica Schneider and Laura Jarrett

A state court judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Trump campaign that asked for an immediate halt to the vote counting until its representatives had “meaningful” access to ballot counting and adjudication.

Judge Cynthia Stephens was highly skeptical throughout a virtual hearing on Thursday about the lack of admissible evidence in the case and whether the campaign had sued the right party (Secretary of State Benson).

“What I have is, at best, a hearsay affidavit that addresses a harm that would be significant,” said Judge Cynthia Stephens. “We’ve got an affidavit that is not first-hand knowledge.”

The lawyer representing the state, Heather Meingast, said the case was essentially moot because the counting had already concluded. “The ship has really sailed on the relief that they’re requesting in this case.” 

The judge said that the Trump campaign’s request is going to be denied in a written order, which will not come today, but she was not convinced of any substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case. She said she will get an order out tomorrow afternoon if she can.

The judge seemed to express exasperation that this case was brought by the Trump campaign and ended the hearing by saying she adjourns the matter “where everyone here seeks to have a full and fair election process.”

1:48 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Philadelphia election officials ask state Supreme Court to weigh in on lawsuit brought by Trump campaign

From CNN's From Mark Morales and Katelyn Polantz

Election workers count ballots at a convention center in Philadelphia on November 4. 
Election workers count ballots at a convention center in Philadelphia on November 4.  Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Philadelphia elections officials have asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that allows canvass observers for the Trump campaign to sit closer, and observe more closely, as mail-in ballots continue to be counted. 

The legal filings forced election workers to briefly stop the process of counting mail-in ballots just before noon ET. They have since resumed.

“The count is going forward,” said Kevin Feeley, spokesman for the city commissioners, who are overseeing the election in Philadelphia.“There was a brief pause earlier today in light of ongoing litigation but it has resumed in accordance with the law.” 

Philadelphia election officials argued that allowing the canvass observers to sit closer jeopardizes both the safety of ballot processing and the privacy of voters, according to the latest court filing.

The Supreme Court in Pennsylvania has yet to weigh in on the request. 

“There’s was a petition for allowance of appeal by The board of elections in Philadelphia. The court has taken no action on this filing,” said Stacey Witalec, spokesperson for the Supreme Court. “They will review it and determine either to grant or deny the appeal.”

According to the city officials’ filing:

“Once again, the statutory provisions at issue give Plaintiff only the right “to remain in the room” and to “be present” where and when the canvassing occurs. The Board has indisputably honored that right, but, as confirmed by the record, has also afforded Plaintiff’s representatives the ability to observe every stage of the canvassing process. The Election Code does not say that representatives have the right to be able to read the language written on each ballot declaration or otherwise to make their own determinations of declaration sufficiency with respect to individual ballots. No such right exists.”

You can read the court filing here.

1:49 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Bulk of mail-in ballots in Nevada's Clark County expected to be counted by this weekend

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

Clark County election official Joe Gloria speaks at a press conference in Las Vegas on November 5.
Clark County election official Joe Gloria speaks at a press conference in Las Vegas on November 5. KTNV

Clark County, Nevada, election official Joe Gloria said staff is preparing to count "a little over 51,000 ballots" today that will be reported on Friday morning.

"We are anticipating the bulk of our mail-ballots that have been received to the system by Saturday or Sunday," Gloria added.

"The bulk of our ballots we're hoping will be ready by Saturday or Sunday, this weekend. And again we won't complete until Nov. 12 with all of those ballots that serve as exceptions," he said.

Clark County is a major population center in Nevada, where Las Vegas is located.

Gloria said the county received a total of 63,262 mail-in ballots that need to be counted and processed. This number includes ballots that were dropped off at voting centers, ballots that were mailed through the US Postal Service and ballots that were pending ahead of Election Day.

Gloria added that the US mail will continue to deliver ballots that were postmarked on Nov. 3, through Nov. 10.

Watch:

1:21 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Georgia judge dismisses lawsuit filed by Republicans over count of ballots

From CNN's Erica Orden 

A Georgia state court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Georgia Republicans to prevent the "unlawful counting of ballots received after the election" in Savannah. They filed the lawsuit after a poll watcher for the party allegedly viewed unprocessed absentee ballots mixed in with absentee ballots that were set to be tabulated. 

Judge James F. Bass made the ruling orally in court Thursday morning, and it was filed with the court this afternoon. 

The state Republican party and the Trump campaign said they filed the court documents in Chatham County Superior Court on Wednesday evening after a party poll watcher "witnessed absentee ballots that had not been properly processed apparently mixed into a pile of absentee ballots that was already set to be tabulated.The proper chain of custody for the ballots was not followed," they alleged according to court documents.

The ballots in question were small in number: "one stack of three ballots, and a second stack of fifty-three ballots," according to a copy of the filing provided by the state Republican party. 

1:23 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Georgia's Fulton County has finished processing ballots, but more than 50,000 still to be counted in state

From CNN’s Victor Blackwell and Elizabeth Joseph

Election workers count Fulton County ballots in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 4.
Election workers count Fulton County ballots in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 4. Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

As of 12:45 p.m. ET, there are approximately 50,401 ballots still outstanding across Georgia, according to a statement by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Almost all of these outstanding ballots are absentee ballots, Georgia Deputy Press Secretary Jordan Fuchs tells CNN.

Fulton County — the largest county in the state and home to Atlanta —has finished processing ballots, the county commissioner said in a news conference.

1:05 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Trump's lead in Pennsylvania shrinks as momentum favors Biden

Written by CNN's Maureen Chowdhury / Analysis by CNN's John King

President Trump's lead in Pennsylvania has significantly gone down in the last 48 hours, with him leading by about 115,000 votes. At one point Trump led by more than 600,000 votes.

What's being counted now are mail-in ballots, which are disproportionately coming in for Joe Biden, King explained. The momentum is currently working in favor for Biden.

The President cannot win reelection without the state's 20 electoral votes. "The math doesn't work," CNN's John King said.

In large population centers in the state like in Montgomery County, Biden is outperforming Trump with mail-in ballot counts and we're still waiting for results to come in from Philadelphia, which has 12% of the state's population.

"This is the biggest population center, the biggest basket, if you will, of available votes," King said. "They're still only reporting 83% of votes," he said.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton won 584,000 votes in Philadelphia County. Currently Biden is just 100,000 votes shy of that with votes still to be counted.

"The expectation is that turnout will be up, so it is not unreasonable to think Joe Biden's going to get really close or maybe even higher than that Hillary Clinton total, which is a game-changing event," King said.

King added that the votes are there for Biden.

"Joe Biden is on the trajectory, if he keeps getting those mail-in ballots, the percentages he's been getting over the last 24 hours, the math is certainly within possibility," he said.

Watch:

12:32 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Biden campaign remains confident, but urges patience as results continue to trickle in

From CNN’s Sarah Mucha

Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon is urging patience as the results continue to filter in, saying that while the story is going to be "very positive" for Biden, the counting is still happening and it’s going to take time. 

“I think the story of today is going to be a very positive story for the vice president but also one where folks are going to need to stay patient and stay calm,” said Dillon. "The counting is happening, it's going to take time. We need to allow it to get done and done well, and we are very confident whatever happens with the counting and the timing we will come out ahead. We are absolutely confident that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States.” 

She said she believes the counting will go "throughout the day and into tomorrow." 

“And we are equally confident that we are going to be able to watch the counting throughout the day and into tomorrow to finalize these last states that are going to put us over the top to 270,” Dillon said.

Dillon outlined how the campaign sees the result in each state, cited below. On Arizona specifically, a state two outlets have called but the majority have not yet, Dillon stressed that they expect the race to be close and the margin to grow tighter but ultimately she believes they will win the state by "tens of thousands" of votes. 

“It wouldn’t be a presentation if I didn’t say I’m bullish on Arizona. We expected it all along to be close and as we look at the data that’s outstanding we see a number of Democratic counties that are yet to report,” she said. “We do expect the margin to be closing. This is the trajectory. We will win by tens of thousands of votes but that margin will close.” 

Remember: Each candidate needs 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. Based on CNN's projections so far, Joe Biden leads the race for the White House with 253 electoral votes. President Trump has 213 electoral votes. CNN is yet to project a winner in six states.

12:25 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

Biden increases his lead in Nevada

A county election worker scans ballots at a tabulating area at the Clark County Election Department in Las Vegas on November 4.
A county election worker scans ballots at a tabulating area at the Clark County Election Department in Las Vegas on November 4. John Locher/AP

Joe Biden's lead in Nevada has gone up from 7,647 to more than 11,000.

Biden holds 49.5% of the vote, while Trump holds 48.5%.

12:17 p.m. ET, November 5, 2020

We're about to get more votes from Nevada

Officials in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, are set to give an update.

The county has the largest share of votes in Nevada, and was silent on updates yesterday. Across Nevada, Biden holds a slim lead.

There are six electoral votes at stake in Nevada.