AP Calls Michigan For Biden, Bringing Him One State Shy of Presidency

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Wednesday has been a moving day for presidential challenger Joe Biden, who according to several official counts now stands one state away from claiming the United States presidency.

Just after 1 p.m., the Associated Press (AP) called the state of Michigan for the former vice president, after calling Wisconsin for the Democrat earlier in the day. With a projected win in Arizona and picking up a crucial electoral vote out of Nebraska, Biden now stands at 264 electoral votes, six shy of the 270 necessary to win the Oval Office, according to AP projections.

Biden can earn those six votes with a victory in Nevada, where he narrowly leads President Donald Trump by a margin of fewer than 8,000 votes, or 0.6% of ballots counted, with 75% of precincts reporting. Ballots left to be counted are largely mail-in, which have favored Biden nationally, as he has spent much of Wednesday gaining on Trump in the yet undecided states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. A substantial portion of the remaining Nevada ballots is expected to be tallied before the end of Wednesday.

Even if Biden wins Nevada and his current lead of nearly 100,000 votes in Arizona holds, it may be several days before he’s officially declared a winner. President Trump has vowed to call for a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden leads by roughly 20,000 votes with 99% of precincts reporting.

Trump has also filed a legal challenge in Michigan to halt the tallying of mail-in ballots, as well as multiple lawsuits in Pennsylvania in hopes of stopping the vote counts currently underway in that state. Attorneys for the president will try to bring Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot deadline of three days post-election into question, as well as cast doubt on the legitimacy of voter tallies based on a rule that requires poll watchers to stand 25 feet away from those engaged in counting votes.

Lawyers for Trump are attempting to make the same argument about poll watchers in Nevada, where the Associated Press says its reporters have observed the process in its entirety and witnessed nothing nefarious or inappropriate. Live streams of portions of the vote tally process in Pennsylvania, which are available for review, have also failed to indicate any foul play on the part of election officials thus far.

The voting process won’t be complete in Pennsylvania until Friday, and ballots in North Carolina may be counted all the way until Nov. 12. The outcomes in those states could make a difference in who assumes the Oval Office in January, depending on what happens in Arizona and Nevada in the coming hours/days.

While the road to the White House looks more promising for Biden than it did even less than one day ago, it will likely be days or even weeks before every legal challenge is sorted out and the next president of the United States is officially declared.