Ballot Counting Is Delayed In These Six States With Legal Battles On The Horizon

As expected (or feared) the presidential election is too close to call. A little after midnight, Joe Biden made a short and surreal speech at a drive‐​in amphitheater to declare “We’re gonna win this.” Then Donald Trump spoke to a packed East Room in the White House at about 2:30am and asserted, “We did win this election,” claiming several states that had yet to be called and making allegations of fraud and disenfranchisement. 

I’m neither a pollster nor political reporter — but here’s why there are delays in the six states yet to be officially called (plus Arizona, which only Fox News and the Associated Press have called, for Biden) and, building on my earlier primer, legal issues that may arise:

Trump maintains a consistent but not insurmountable lead as some mailed‐​in ballots, less than 10 percent of the total, remain to be counted, particularly in metro Atlanta’s DeKalb County and Savannah’s Chatham County. Ballots arriving after Election Day don’t count, so I imagine the state will be called today. Several counties in the Atlanta area ran into technical difficulties, but it’s unclear whether this will generate lawsuits or other problem beyond a delay in the count.