Live US election 2020: Latest updates on polls, results in Donald Trump vs Joe Biden presidential race

It could be hours — or even days — before election officials across the United States are done counting ballots and are able to ascertain a winner for the presidential race between incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

This is due to the extra steps involved in verifying and counting the millions of votes received through mail ballots and drop boxes in areas where early voting sites have been made available, as well as polls cast on voting day itself — November 3 — at assigned locations.

Such differences may result in a significant lag in reporting time across the states.

The live blog has been closed, check latest updates on election results here

All times are reported in Eastern Time (ET).

9:50pm ET — American media calls Louisiana for Trump

American media projected that US President Donald Trump will win Louisiana.

The state carries 8 electoral votes. Either of the candidates needs 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

So far, Joe Biden is leading the electoral college 122 votes and US President Donald Trump is behind with 92 votes.

9:25pm ET — US media calls two more states for Joe Biden

US media projected that Democratic candidate Joe Biden will win the state of New Mexico and New York.

The states carry 34 votes in the electoral college. Either of the candidates needs 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

So far, Joe Biden is leading the electoral college 122 votes and US President Donald Trump is behind with 86 votes.

9:20pm ET — American media calls four more states for Trump

American media projected that US President Donald Trump will win North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The states carry 14 electoral votes. Either of the candidates needs 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

So far, Joe Biden is leading the electoral college 88 votes and US President Donald Trump is behind with 86 votes.

9:00pm ET — Polls close in 10 more states of the US

Polls have closed in 10 more states of the US taking the total tally to 36, reported American media.

The latest polls to close are Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming

Earlier the voting had ended in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

8:45pm ET — Trump leading in key state of Florida

US President Donald Trump has taken over Joe Biden in the race for the key state of Florida, 

According to New York Times, Trump is leading the state with 50.6% votes and Biden behind with 48.4% of the votes. So far, 91% of the votes have been counted. 

8:40pm ET - Biden wins four, Trump wins three more states

US media projected that Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won the four more states and President Donald Trump has won three more states

Former vice president Joe Biden has won the states of Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island. On the other hand, President Trump has won Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas.

The states carry 66 votes in the electoral college. Either of the candidates needs 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

So far, Joe Biden is leading the electoral college 88 votes and US President Donald Trump is behind with 72 votes.

8:25pm ET — American media calls Tennessee for Trump

American media projected that US President Donald Trump will win Tennessee.

The state carries 11 electoral votes. Either of the candidates needs 270 electoral votes to win the 2020 presidential election.

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 51 votes with Joe Biden securing 43 votes.

8:15pm ET — US media projects Joe Biden's win in Delaware, DC, Maryland and Massachusetts

US media projected that Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won DC, Maryland, Massachusetts and his home state of Delaware.

The states carries 26 votes in the electoral college.

So far, Joe Biden is leading with 43 votes in the electoral college and US President Donald Trump securing 40 votes.

8:10pm ET — Polls close in 17 more states of the US 

Polls have close in 17 more states of the US taking the total tally to 26, reported CNN.

So far the polls have close in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee.

Earlier the voting has ended in Ohio, North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

8:02pm ET — American media calls Oklahoma for Trump

American media projected that US President Donald Trump will win Oklahoma. 

The state carries 7 electoral votes. 

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 40 votes with Joe Biden securing 16 votes.

8:00pm ET — American media calls South Carolina for Trump 

American news agency AP called South Carolina for US President Donald Trump. 

The state carries 9 electoral votes. 

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 33 votes with Joe Biden securing 16 votes.

7:55pm ET — Candidates urge voters to stay in line

Candidates from both the parties urged voters to stay in line as results started coming in from different states of the US. 

7:50pm ET — AP calls Virginia for Joe Biden, West Virginia for Trump

US wire agency AP called Virginia for Joe Biden and US state of West Virginia for US President Donald Trump.

Virginia carries 13 electoral votes, while West Virginia has 5 electoral votes.

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 24 votes with Joe Biden securing 16 votes.

5:45pm ET — Joe Biden maintains narrow lead in Florida

Democratic candidate Joe Biden is maintaining a narrow lead in the key state of Florida, carrying 29 electoral college votes, reported CNN.

According to CNN, 67% of votes have been reported with Joe Biden winning 50% with his rival securing 49.1% of votes. 

7:35pm ET — Voting ends in 3 more states 

Voting has ended in three more states Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia carrying 38 electoral votes, reported American media.

Earlier it was reported that polls have closed in US states of Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

7:25pm ET — US media projects Donald Trump's win in Kentucky 

US media projected that US Donald Trump has won the republican leaning states of Kentucky.

The state carries 8 votes in the electoral college.

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 19 votes with Joe Biden securing 3 votes.

7:25pm ET — US media projects Joe Biden's win in Vermont 

US media outlets have projected that Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won the US state of Vermont. 

The state carries three votes in the electoral college. 

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 11 votes with Joe Biden securing 3 votes.

7:10pm ET— CNN projects Trump win in Indiana

American channel CNN has projected US President Donald Trump will win the 11 electoral votes of the state of Indiana.

Indiana is also the home state of incumbent US Vice President Mike Pence. 

So far, US President Donald Trump is leading the electoral college with 11 votes.

7:00pm ET — Voting ends in 6 states including Georgia and Virginia 

Voting has ended in six states carrying 60 electoral votes, including the key state of Georgia and Virginia, reported American media.

According to CNN, polls have closed in US States of Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.

The six states carry 60 electoral votes over all with Georgia carrying 16, Indiana carrying 11, Kentucky carrying 8, South Carolina carrying 9, Vermont carrying 3 and Virginia carrying 13.

6:55pm ET — Trump campaign confident of victory 

US President Donald Trump’s campaign has said it is confident that the high voter turnout may lead to their victory and are hopeful that the results may be much better than 2016, reported CNN.

In a call with reporters, the Trump campaign expressed confidence that Election Day turnout would boost their vote count despite a lead for Democrats among early voters, with campaign manager Bill Stepien pointing to Florida as an auspicious sign for the campaign.

“We, very much are of, we don’t agree with the Biden campaign on very much, but we do agree with their assessment of the way the election, the pre-election day vote has broken down, most notably Florida at nearly a dead heat heading into election day,” campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters in a conference call.

“Where we, where we disagree with the Biden campaign is their view of what is happening on election day. They believe that election, and the makeup of voters who are voting today on Election Day, will resemble those who voted on election day in 2016," said Stepien 

6:40pm ET - Washington USA — Democrats favored to win control of US Senate

Democrats are favored to emerge from 14 hotly contested US Senate races with full control of Congress in Tuesday’s election, but final results from at least five of those contests may not be available for days, and in some cases, months.

With public disapproval of President Donald Trump weighing on Republicans across the country, voters will decide whether to end the political careers of embattled Republican senators, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and moderate Susan Collins of Maine, among others.

In total, 12 Republican-held seats and two Democratic-held seats are in play, based on a Reuters analysis of three nonpartisan US elections forecasters — the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.

“There are dogfights all over the country,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said at a campaign stop. He described the possibility of Republicans holding onto the Senate majority as a “50-50 proposition.”

Those odds appear optimistic, based on the three forecasters.

They forecast that Democrats could emerge with as many as 55 of the Senate’s 100 seats, giving them a majority for the first time in a decade in both the Senate and the 435-seat House of Representatives, where they are expected to maintain control.

Democrats are hoping to usher in a new political era in Washington if their presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, also wins.

Though likely to fall short of a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority, Democratic Senate control would greatly aid a Biden legislative agenda or help stymie a second Trump term.

6:20pm ET — Looking really good: Trump 

US President Donald Trump announced that his campaign was "looking really good" as the polls start closing in a few US states.

“We are looking really good all over the country. Thank you!” said the US president on Twitter.

6:00pm ET — First polls close in parts of US states of Indiana and Kentucky

The first polls have closed in the parts Republican-leaning states of Kentucky and Indiana, reported American media.

It is expected that the incumbent US President Donald Trump will win both the states. In terms of electoral college votes, the state of Kentucky has eight electoral votes, while Indiana, has 11 electoral votes.

The state of Indiana is also the home of state of US Vice President Mike Pence.

5:50pm ET — Biden to watch election results in Wilmington, Trump from White House   

Both the candidates for the US presidency will watch the election results with their families said reports.

NBC News reporter Marianna Sotomayor, citing the campaign team, Democratic Party’s candidate Joe Biden will watch the election day results from his Wilmington home in the US state of Delaware with his family.

On the other hand, US President Donald Trump will watch the election results from the East Wing of the White House.

“The President’s going to be watching returns tonight with senior aides, with members of the first family from the White House, from the East Wing. He’s excited. We’ve put in the work, we’ve not taken any vote for granted, he’s been out on the trail meeting with voters, doing as many as five events a day, and we’re ready to see these results,” White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah told Fox Business.

The official also confirmed that the US president will make a public appearance in the White House but did not provide details.

5:30pm ET — Economy most important issue for American voters: CNN exit poll 

American said the economy was the most important issue for them as they voted in the US Election, showed exit polls shared by CNN.

“The most important issue to voters in the 2020 election is the economy, with around one-third who chose it, followed by around 1 in 5 for racial inequality and the same who chose coronavirus,” said CNN.

The American news channel reported that more than half of the voters said that it was more important for the US to curb the spread of the coronavirus than rebuilding the economy.

For earlier updates click here.