American elections too tight to call

By Tyson Burrows

Americans went to the polls yesterday in one of the tightest presidential races in U.S. history, reminiscent of the 2000 election.

U.S. media outlets are predicting the results of the vote may not be known for days, if not weeks, depending on how long it takes for votes to be counted.  

At the time of publication, The Associated Press had Joe Biden at 237 electoral votes and incumbent President Donald Trump at 214.

The 2000 elections between Al Gore and George Bush were only finalized more than a month after election day due to recounts, disputes over mail-in ballots and “hanging chads”.

While most states were allowed to begin processing absentee (mail-in) ballots before election day, this was not the case in the critical states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Many states are also allowing extra time for any ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3.

To become the next president of the United States, either incumbent President Trump or Biden will need to secure 270 out of 538 electoral college votes.

When Americans cast their ballot, they are essentially voting for electors who will subsequently make the final selection as part of the Electoral College.

I will be making a statement tonight. A big WIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2020

“Frankly, we did win this election,” Donald Trump said in a speech late Tuesday night. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at four in the morning.”

At the time of his speech, Biden held 220 votes in the electoral college compared to Trump’s 213. Biden also maintained a lead regarding the popular vote at the time.

At the time, Trump was claiming wins in Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, all of which had yet to be called by any major network.

Keep the faith, guys. We’re gonna win this.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 4, 2020

In a tweet posted earlier in the evening, Biden declared: “It’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare the winner of this election. It’s the voters’ place.”