Joe Biden is closing in on the White House, as he overtakes Donald Trump in Georgia for the first time.
Election workers count ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: AFP
Biden has been gaining more ground on Trump in the battleground states of Georgia and Pennsylvania today, edging closer to the White House hours after Trump falsely claimed the election was being "stolen" from him.
At the last update about 10.30pm (NZ time), Biden was leading by 917 votes. More than five million votes have been counted so far, with Biden holding 49.39 percent and Trump 49.37 percent of the total vote.
A big batch of votes in Georgia gave Biden the advantage, although it's not enough electoral votes to get him to 270.
Georgia has 16 votes in the Electoral College. A win in Pennsylvania - where Biden's numbers have been steadily rising - would put the Democrat into the White House.
Meanwhile, Trump cannot afford to lose Georgia if he is to keep alive his hopes of a second term, CNN says.
Trump cannot find a route to 270 electoral votes without Georgia and Pennsylvania, so his chances of securing re-election will hinge on developments in the two states.
A Democratic presidential contender last won Georgia in 1992. In the 2016 election Trump claimed it by more than 200,000 votes.
Here's a look back at the blog from 6 November:
Earlier, Trump said he was working to protect the integrity of the election against what he called "illegal votes", saying pollsters got the vote "knowingly wrong", without citing any evidence, and continued to make a number of false statements.
Biden said he had no doubt he would defeat Trump and win the US presidency, and asked everyone to stay calm as votes are counted.
Biden said he had received a briefing on the state of the Covid pandemic in the USA and its economic effects.
In a short speech, hinting at his growing readiness to take on the presidency, he said that he and his running mate Kamala Harris had been receiving high-level briefings.
"We are nearing 240,000 deaths from the pandemic. Our hearts go out to each and every family affected."
Photo: Tami Chappell / AFP
He then urged Americans to remain calm and patient as the votes are still being counted in five key states.
"In America, the vote is sacred. It is the will of the voters - no-one else - who chooses the president, so every vote must be counted.
"Democracy is sometimes messy. It requires patience."
He said that his camp remains confident about the state of the race.
"We continue to feel very good about where the vote stands."
- RNZ / Reuters
