Biden, Trump in neck and neck

…Trump, Biden await results in battleground states

…Two Nigerians, Agbaje, Oye win Minnesota, District of Columbia

THE excruciatingly close U.S. presidential election hung in the balance yesterday with Democrat Joe Biden leading in two critical Midwestern states that could tip the contest in his favor even as President Donald Trump claimed victory and made allegations of electoral fraud.

Biden extended his narrow lead in Michigan while maintaining a slight edge in Wisconsin on Wednesday, according to Edison Research. The Republican president won the two pivotal battleground states in 2016. Michigan officials continued to count mail-in ballots that surged amid the coronavirus pandemic. Wisconsin officials said they concluded their counting, but a winner had yet to be declared.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday requested for a vote recount in Wisconsin won by Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Biden inched closer to victory in the bitterly-fought United States election with  253 Electoral College votes to Trump’s 214.

For a candidate to be declared winner, he must win 270 Electoral College votes.

The final outcome was being expected last night in fiercely contested states of Alaska  with 3 Electoral College Votes, Georgia (16), Nevada (6) North Carolina (15) and Pennsylvania (20).

The Trump campaign also filed a lawsuit to halt the counting of votes in Michigan, alleging it had not been given “meaningful access” to observe the count in several locations.

Bill Stepien, the Trump campaign manager, said in a statement that the lawsuit filed in Michigan state court sought a halt to the count until they were given access, as well as a “review” of ballots already counted.

A copy of the Trump campaign lawsuit was not immediately available from the Michigan Court of Claims. A Michigan courts spokesman said it had not yet been filed.

The winner of the election is determined through a system called the Electoral College. Each of the 50 states, plus Washington DC, is given a number of Electoral College votes, adding up to a total of 538 votes. More populous states get more Electoral College votes than smaller ones. A candidate needs to win 270 Electoral College votes (50% plus one) to win the election.

With millions of votes yet to be counted, Trump made a premature claim of victory and alleged plot to “steal the election”.  He also falsely asserted election fraud.

Claiming that he had won many states that whose ballots, including Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

His Democratic challenger insisted that “we believe we’re on track to win this election” and pleaded for patience, citing Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. “It ain’t over till every vote is counted,” Biden said.