News24.com | EXPLAINER | What are Trump and Biden's paths to potential victory in the US elections?


 A voter during the US elections.

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Wednesday each faced narrow paths to potential victory in a close-fought US presidential election that will be determined by a razor-thin margin.

Six battleground states remain to be called - Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - with Biden needing to carry at least two to win, while Trump would need at least four. (No winner had been projected in Alaska on Wednesday afternoon, either.)

The outcome is almost certain to come down to millions of absentee ballots that were the first cast in this election and often are the last to be counted.

At 21:00, Biden held narrow leads in Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Trump held leads in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, though tens of thousands of ballots remain to be counted in those states, many of them votes cast by mail in the areas around major cities, which traditionally favor Democrats.

Here are Trump's and Biden's paths to victory:

Trump

Trump’s most likely road to victory goes through Pennsylvania, a state he carried in 2016. If he wins there, he will have to win three of the other battleground states to secure 270 electoral votes. If he doesn’t win Pennsylvania, he’ll have to sweep Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and either Wisconsin or Nevada.

Trump led the voting in Pennsylvania about 53% to 45% with about 80% of the votes likely counted.

The state’s biggest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have reported a smaller share of their election results so far, and those results traditionally favor Democrats. Beyond that, many of the ballots that remain to be counted were filed by mail, and the state has said many more Democrats than Republicans cast mail-in ballots this year.

Pennsylvania offers one other wrinkle: Its state courts have ordered officials to count absentee ballots that were cast by Tuesday so long as they arrive in the mail by Friday. (Trump has criticized the US Supreme Court for permitting the change and the case could return to the court after the election.)

Biden

Biden’s most likely road to victory goes through Michigan and Wisconsin, states where he held narrow leads Wednesday as officials worked to tally the final votes. If Biden wins those states, victories in Georgia, Nevada or Pennsylvania would give him enough to win.

If Biden wins Pennsylvania, a victory in Georgia, Michigan or North Carolina alone would give him the presidency.

Biden held a lead of about 45 000 in Michigan, and many of the votes remaining to be counted there were mail-in ballots from metropolitan Detroit, where Democrats have historically enjoyed an electoral advantage.

Wisconsin officials said Biden was ahead by about 20 000 votes when they concluded their unofficial count on Wednesday. Trump's campaign said it would seek a recount there.

Officials in Nevada, where Biden had a razor-thin 49.3%-48.7% lead with 86% of expected votes counted, said they would not resume counting ballots until Thursday morning.