Exciting race: US election: Biden extends lead and announces speech – Trump continues to speak of “illegal votes” – Georgia before recount | message
If Biden wins the state of Pennsylvania with its 20 voters, he would already have a majority of 270 voters. According to the decisions that have already been made, the former Vice President has Barack Obama so far has at least 253 votes. He was also ahead in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. In contrast, things looked good for Trump in North Carolina and Alaska – which, however, would not be enough for him. The president is not elected directly in the USA, but by an electoral assembly (Electoral College) in December. The inauguration is scheduled to take place on January 20, 2021.
Until then, there will most likely still be complicated proceedings before the courts. Violent protests by supporters or opponents of the president are also feared. Trump again presented himself as a victim of systematic election fraud during an appearance in the White House, without giving any evidence for his claims. Several US television stations then canceled their live broadcast. In the states that are still outstanding on Friday evening, the situation was as follows:
PENNSYLVANIA (20 votes):
In the state in the northeast, Trump led the count at times with more than 700,000 votes. But Biden caught up more and more with the counting of the postal votes and overtook the President on Friday. Most recently he had a lead of more than 13,600 votes. Around 100,000 votes were still pending, but Biden had been able to consistently improve his position with the latest updates.
Officials also announced that in the late afternoon (local time) the evaluation of up to 30,000 votes would begin, for which the data would have to be checked. These include, for example, those of voters who did not vote in one election office in which they were registered, but in another. In order for the votes to be counted, election officials consult with the original polling station.
GEORGIA (16 votes):
In the state in the southeast, Trump was initially ahead with more than 300,000 votes. In the course of the count, the lead melted. On Friday, Biden had a lead of about 1,600 votes. Experts expected the remaining votes to increase this lead. Around 8,200 absentee votes were still available, and a few thousand votes were also up for review. With 8,400 votes sent overseas to military personnel, it was unclear how many of them were still on their way back to the election officers. If a new count is expected, each vote should be re-scanned, which could take until the end of November. The Democrats haven’t won Georgia since 1992.
ARIZONA (11 votes):
The AP news agency and Fox television station had slammed the state into Biden early on election night. Other media held back. In Arizona, Biden’s lead has fallen slightly to just under 41,000 votes. Around 220,000 votes were still to be counted. It was unclear at what rate new results would be announced. Recently, Trump had only slowly caught up with his deficit.
NEVADA (6 votes):
In the state in the west – with the gambling stronghold Las Vegas – Biden almost doubled his lead to a good 20,100 votes on Friday. Here, election commentators did not assume that any pending votes would change anything in this majority, because they mainly come from the democratic Las Vegas.
NORTH CAROLINA (15 votes):
In the east coast state, Trump was ahead with more than 76,000 votes, which Biden could hardly catch up. Special feature: In North Carolina, postal votes are still counted, which are received by November 12th – nine days after election day. A result was no longer expected on Friday. Alaska, where there was also no result, is considered safe bank for Trump.
If the incumbent should actually lose, hardly anyone expects an admission of defeat. The president announced that he would defend himself against defeat with a whole series of lawsuits up to the Supreme Court. Trump’s team’s general manager Matt Morgan said Friday, “This election is not over.” Biden’s predictions of election victories in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona are based on results that are far from complete. “As soon as the election is over, President Trump will be re-elected,” said Morgan optimistically. Lawsuits have been filed in some states. Initial complaints were dismissed in Michigan and Georgia.
Georgia authorities expect recounts
The responsible authorities in Georgia expect the result of the US presidential election in this state to be so tight that a recount is expected. Both candidates could request this as soon as a confirmed result with a gap of no more than 0.5 percentage points is available, said the representative of the electoral authority, Gabriel Sterling, on Friday in Atlanta. On Friday, Georgia challenger Joe Biden had a lead of just 1,586 votes over incumbent Donald Trump.
Three days after the election, 4,169 votes had not yet been counted. Because of the high requirements for checking the ballot papers and counting, the result will probably be presented by the weekend, said Sterling. With a recount, each vote would have to be re-scanned, which could take until the end of November.
Republican Party member Sterling said there were no “widespread irregularities” except for a few minor incidents. The official said that the count was taking place in the middle of a pandemic. It is counted and checked non-stop. He hoped that the election officials could soon find some time to sleep. He thinks that, like after a natural disaster, there should be T-shirts with the inscription: “I survived the 2020 election.”
Biden wants to address the nation
The Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wants to address the nation in a speech on Friday evening (local time). The German press agency learned this from a spokesman for Biden’s election campaign team. Biden has turned to the American people three times since the election and called for patience in the face of the ongoing count. Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the office of vice president, will also allegedly give a speech on Friday evening (local time).
He and his runner-up candidate Kamala Harris have no doubt that they will have won the election after the votes have been counted, Biden said on Thursday at a brief appearance in Wilmington, Delaware. “That’s why I ask everyone to keep calm,” said Biden. “The process works, the counting is brought to an end.” Every vote has to be counted, emphasized Biden. The result of the election will be known “very soon”.
Trump continues to speak of ‘illegal votes’
US President Donald Trump on Friday again accused that “illegal votes” would be counted after Tuesday’s presidential election. From the beginning he said that only “legal votes” should be considered for the result. “But we have encountered opposition from the Democrats on this fundamental principle,” Trump said in a written statement.
It is about the integrity of the entire electoral process. The President announced again that he wanted to use all legal means. Addressing the American people, he added, “I will never give up fighting for you and our nation.” Since election night, Trump has asserted several times that there was electoral fraud without citing any evidence.
Trump is racing on Twitter again
US President Donald Trump again railed on Twitter against allegedly illegal votes on Friday morning German time. With the legal votes, he will win the election easily, said Trump. He also claimed election observers were not allowed to do their jobs. Twitter again provided the tweet with a warning.
I easily WIN the Presidency of the United States with LEGAL VOTES CAST. The OBSERVERS were not allowed, in any way, shape, or form, to do their job and therefore, votes accepted during this period must be determined to be ILLEGAL VOTES. U.S. Supreme Court should decide!
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2020
Trump speaks of election manipulation – election observers disagree
Trump denounced a number of alleged manipulations of Tuesday’s vote during his appearance on Thursday evening (local time) without any evidence. He still sees himself as a legitimate winner in a number of countries, despite the ongoing counting. “If you count the legal votes, I win with ease,” said Trump. “If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal our elections.”
Trump has so far provided no evidence to support his claims that there was massive election fraud. In addition, there was no evidence of this: the election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said they had “been unable to find any evidence of systemic problems”. Trump further criticized the fact that, to his detriment, poll results were knowingly published before the election. In fact, many polls saw challenger Joe Biden far better than previous results.
Trump also announced again that he would massively defend himself in court against defeat. “There will be a lot of lawsuits. We cannot allow an election to be stolen this way.” Trump’s team had already filed lawsuits against the vote count in several states. In Michigan and Georgia, these complaints were dismissed.
In a letter that became known on Thursday night, lawyers from Trump’s campaign team asked Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate. They alleged that they found 3,062 people in Nevada who had illegally cast their votes in the state.
Trump had to put up with harsh criticism from members of his party for his actions. “There is no justification for the president’s remarks tonight that are undermining our democratic process,” Maryland Republican governor Larry Hogan wrote on Twitter. In an interview with the station PBS, he accused Trump and his camp of having prepared the ground for the current procedure – the questioning of the results – with warnings about the postal vote. Hogan is the chairman of the National Association of Governors.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger called for evidence to be presented for fraud allegations and presented in court. “Stop spreading exposed misinformation … This is getting crazy,” he wrote on Twitter.
The influential chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, sided with Trump and donated $ 500,000 to his legal fund.
Trump son calls for “total war” over the election
President’s son Donald Trump Jr. has called on his father to start an “all-out war” over the election. Donald Trump must “expose all the fraud and cheating,” wrote his Trump Jr. son on Twitter on Thursday. This included the votes of voters who were dead or no longer lived in the respective state, claimed the Trump son. “It is time to clean up this mess and stop looking like a banana republic.”
Biden spokesman on Trump: escort ‘intruder’ from White House
Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign team has won the US election brought into play the forced removal of incumbent Donald Trump from the White House. “The United States government is perfectly capable of escorting intruders from the White House,” said spokesman Andrew Bates, according to consistent media reports. He was responding to fears that Trump would not be able to admit an impending election defeat. Biden himself had made a similar statement weeks ago.
US police arrest two men with guns near the vote count
Philadelphia police arrested two men with guns in their vehicle near the convention center where US presidential votes are being tallied. The authorities initially did not comment on the background. The local broadcaster WPVI reported on Friday night (local time) that the police had received a tip that an attack on the convention center could have been planned. TV pictures showed how one of the men was being led away.
In Philadelphia, gun carrying rules are a little stricter than the rest of Pennsylvania – a permit is required. The broadcaster Fox News reported that the Federal Police FBI had taken over the investigation.
The day before, armed people were already in the state of Arizona at a demonstration by Trump supporters in front of a building for the vote count. Open carrying of weapons is permitted in Arizona.
Biden is apparently getting more protection from the Secret Service
According to a media report, the Secret Service is sending additional employees to the state of Delaware to protect US presidential candidate Joe Biden. Biden will stay at least one more day in the city of Wilmington and possibly give a big speech on Friday, reported the Washington Post on Friday night (local time), citing two unnamed sources. Biden’s campaign team informed the authority of this.
According to the report, dozens of Secret Service employees are already on duty in the Chase Center, where Biden and his team have stayed. The additional agents are expected to strengthen security there from Friday. The number of employees seconded in Wilmington does not correspond to the protection that a President-elect deserves. A Secret Service spokeswoman said there would be no public comment on the security precautions.
Experts give Biden a good chance of an election victory. In the ongoing count in the important states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, he had recently caught up with incumbent Donald Trump. The former Vice President has the chance to overtake Trump there. Trump has already announced a wave of lawsuits against the impending election defeat. In an appearance in the White House on Thursday evening, he presented himself as a victim of election fraud in the presidential election without providing any evidence.
WASHINGTON / WILMINGTON (dpa-AFX)
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