Election Update for Friday, November 6: Biden Now Leads in Georgia, Pennsylvania
As vote totals continue to come in, President Trump’s early leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia have now evaporated and Vice President Joe Biden now holds slight leads in both states. Indications from Georgia are that the slim margins in that state will trigger an automatic recount under state law. Biden continues to hold his leads in Nevada and Arizona.
In the contest for electoral college votes, each candidate needs 270 to win the presidency. Here’s a breakdown as to where we stand in the battleground states as of 3 p.m. Eastern.
Pennsylvania
The latest news from Pennsylvania shows Biden with almost 10,000 more votes than Trump, but there are many more ballots to be counted, including approximately 175,000 absentee ballots. Nearly 6.6 million votes in the Keystone State have already been tabulated.
Pennsylvania holds 20 electoral votes and is considered a must-win for the president in his effort to get to 270.
Georgia
Biden has now taken a slight lead over Trump as more votes have come in from the heavily Democratic suburbs around Atlanta. Currently, Biden’s lead is less than 2000 votes, with 99% of the votes counted. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Friday that the close vote totals will likely trigger an automatic recount there.
Georgia officials report that there are several thousand military and overseas ballots remaining to be counted as well.
Georgia awards 16 electoral votes to the winner of that state.
Nevada
Nevada is still close, with results from Friday adding to a small Biden lead there. According to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, Biden’s lead has increased to approximately 20,000 votes, with approximately 120,000 votes yet to be counted.
A court hearing has been scheduled for late Friday afternoon concerning Republican claims that poll watchers have been excluded from counting facilities, and that the state has counted votes of people no longer living in the state, as well as from dead people.
Nevada has six electoral votes.
Arizona
With approximately 300,000 votes left to be counted, Biden leads by 44,000 votes. Arizona has 9 electoral votes.
North Carolina
President Trump continues to lead in North Carolina by approximately 77,000 votes, with 95% of the vote in and 288,000 votes that have yet to be counted. North Carolina has 15 electoral votes.
Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Joe Biden is the likely winner. With 99% of the vote counted and 22,000 votes outstanding, the former Vice President leads President Trump by 20,000 votes. The Trump campaign has stated that it will ask for a recount in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has 10 electoral votes.
Michigan
Biden is also the apparent winner in Michigan. With 99% of the vote in, he leads Trump by almost 145,000 votes, with only 19,000 votes remaining to be counted. Michigan has 16 electoral votes.
Photo from Visuals6x / Shutterstock.com
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bruce Hausknecht, J.D., is an attorney who serves as Focus on the Family’s judicial analyst. He is responsible for research and analysis of legal and judicial issues related to Christians and the institution of the family, including First Amendment freedom of religion and free speech issues, judicial activism, marriage, homosexuality and pro-life matters. He also tracks legislation and laws affecting these issues. Prior to joining Focus in 2004, Hausknecht practiced law for 17 years in construction litigation and as an associate general counsel for a large ministry in Virginia. He was also an associate pastor at a church in Colorado Springs for seven years, primarily in worship music ministry. Hausknecht has provided legal analysis and commentary for top media outlets including CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS Radio, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and BBC radio. He’s also a regular contributor to The Daily Citizen. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Hausknecht has been married since 1981 and has three adult children, as well as three adorable grandkids. In his free time, Hausknecht loves getting creative with his camera and capturing stunning photographs of his adopted state of Colorado.