Biden Secures Early Electoral Vote Lead : NPR

As polls close on the East Coast and in the Midwest, Democratic nominee Joe Biden has an early lead in electoral votes over the Republican incumbent President Trump, but with voters nationwide still casting ballots and several key swing states yet uncalled, the race for the White House continues.

As of 10 p.m. ET, according to The Associated Press, Trump has won the reliably red states of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming, for a total of 98 Electoral College votes.

Biden so far has clinched victories in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia, for 131 electoral votes.

A total of 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency.

Although polls have closed, the AP reports that races in states such as Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire and in swing state heavy-hitters Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida remain too close to call.

One important storyline in this election is early voting, which has surged this year in large part due to the coronavirus. As of Election Day morning, more than 1 million Americans had voted early, and estimates show that 67% of eligible voters likely will have cast early ballots.

Another revolves around a report this week by Axios that Trump told confidants he would claim victory prematurely if he appeared to be leading. On Tuesday, during an interview on Fox and Friends, Trump said he would declare victory “when there’s victory” and that “there’s no reason to play games.”

The last U.S. polls close at 1 a.m. ET.