U.S. Election 2020: Trump files lawsuit in 3rd state

8:07 p.m.: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters declared victory in Michigan.

6 p.m.: Democrat Joe Biden is now only six Electoral College votes away from winning the White House, according to the Associated Press, which has projected Biden to win the battleground state of Michigan.

Biden’s campaign also has launched a transition website in anticipation of a Biden-Kamala Harris administration.

At the same time, President Donald Trump’s campaign filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania and Michigan, laying the groundwork for contesting the outcome in undecided battlegrounds that could determine whether he gets another four years in the White House.

The new filings, joining existing Republican legal challenges in Pennsylvania and Nevada, demand better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted, the campaign said. The Trump campaign also is seeking to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court that deals with whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted.

Biden stopped short of declaring victory in the 2020 presidential election late Wednesday afternoon, but said “after a long night of counting, it’s clear that we are winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.”

12:45 p.m.:

Trump’s campaign announced it would ask for a recount in Wisconsin, a state The Associated Press called for Democrat Joe Biden on Wednesday afternoon. Campaign manager Bill Stepien cited “irregularities in several Wisconsin counties.”

Biden said the count should continue in all states, adding, “No one’s going to take our democracy away from us — not now, not ever,” Biden said on Wednesday. His campaign didn’t immediately comment on the new lawsuits in Michigan or Pennsylvania over access for observers. But it has been seeking donations for what it is calling the “Biden Fight Fund.”

“Our legal team is standing by, and they will prevail,” Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a fundraising email to supporters Wednesday.

The Trump campaign said it is calling for a temporary halt in the counting in Michigan and Pennsylvania until it is given “meaningful” access in numerous locations and allowed to review ballots that already have been opened and processed.

Trump is running slightly behind Biden in Michigan. The president is ahead in Pennsylvania but his margin is shrinking as more mailed ballots are counted.

Biden appeared with his running mate, Calif. Sen. Kamala Harris, at the Chase Center from Wilmington, Del.

“Yesterday, we once again proved democracy is the heartbeat of this nation,” Biden said, highlighting the fact more people voted in this year’s election — “more than 150 million people” — and "we won the majority of the American people.

“And there is every indication that number will grow,” Biden said. Harris did not make any statement.

Shortly after Biden’s statement, Trump’s legal team, headed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, held a press conference in Philadelphia, decrying alleged voter fraud in Pennsylvania. “This is absolute fraud,” said Eric Trump, the president’s son, who appeared with Guiliani. “We’re going to win Pennsylvania. They’re trying to cheat us out of it.”

Trump is requesting an immediate recount in Wisconsin, has filed one lawsuit in Michigan and two in Pennsylvania, as Biden widened his electoral college lead Wednesday afternoon in the 2020 presidential election.

Late Wednesday afternoon, both CNN and Fox News projected Biden to win Michigan, a huge boost to the former vice president’s Oval Office hopes.

Trump is filing two lawsuits in Pennsylvania to halt all voting counting until there is "meaningful transparency. Early Wednesday afternoon, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said the campaign will “immediately” request a recount in the battleground state of Wisconsin, which the AP called for Biden at 2:17 p.m.

The Trump campaign has also filed a lawsuit in Michigan to stop the counting of ballots until the campaign is given “meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe opening of ballots.”

In Nevada, the Trump campaign and the state GOP said late Wednesday afternoon, they are investigating “thousands” of alleged complaints regarding issues that arose with the election.

After the Trump recount announcement, Biden campaign adviser Bob Bauer, who earlier told reporters his candidate had won the election, said he believes Biden has won the Badger State.

Late Wednesday morning, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon expected Biden to address the nation later in the day. “Joe Biden is on track to win this election, and he will be the next president of the United States ... We believe we are on a clear path to victory by this afternoon.”

Shortly before 11 a.m., Biden campaign advisor Bob Bauer told reporters “We’ve won the election. And we’re going to defend that election.”

From the White House, the president continued to unleash a Twitter barrage, alleging Biden votes are being found “all over the place.”

Stepien said earlier Wednesday morning that if all legally counted cast ballots are counted, even by conservative estimates, Trump will win the election.

Biden’s campaign says it will fight any efforts by Trump’s campaign to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent ballots from being tabulated. In a statement sent before 4 a.m. Wednesday, O’Malley Dillon called Trump’s statement that he will “be going to the U.S. Supreme Court” and that he wants “all voting to stop” “outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect.”

O’Malley Dillon said the Biden campaign has “legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort.” And she said, “They will prevail.”

The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race. There are still hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted, and the outcome hinges on a handful of uncalled battleground states.

Trump made a statement nearly two hours later from the East Room of the White House. He said it was "clear we have won Georgia,” although the state hadn’t been called yet while ballots were still being counted early Wednesday.

The president also mentioned going to the Supreme Court as he questioned how the process was being conducted in counting votes. He said: “We will win this, and as far as I’m concerned we already have won it.”

»Click here for live Georgia results.

The AJC will continue posting live updates.

11:46 a.m. Michigan’s secretary of state said the state is waiting on 100,000 ballots before a statewide unofficial count will have been completed.

11:26 a.m. Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe tells NBC, “All of the ballots have indeed been counted. We’re not seeing that there’s any counties that haven’t posted their results on their websites.” NBC has Biden ahead by 20,697 votes.

10:27 a.m. Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon says Georgia is “currently a toss-up” and North Carolina is “probably leaning towards Trump.” They are projecting wins in Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

9:41 a.m.

President Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania reportedly has dropped by 31,435 votes after an additional batch of 47,723 mail-in ballots was uploaded.

9:30 a.m.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said, “At the end of the day, the will of the people of Pennsylvania is going to be respected,” as more data on the state will be apparent today.

9:20 a.m.

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall said, “We must count every vote in every state — regardless of who is ahead or behind. Donald Trump doesn’t get to decide otherwise. That is how our democracy works.”

9:12 a.m.

Joe Biden’s campaign says it has an “insurmountable vote by mail lead” in Michigan and expects state “to be called by midday,” according to a Politico reporter.

9:01 a.m.

A Biden campaign official reportedly said votes counts in the battleground states of Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada are moving in their favor, but none of those races have been called.

8:56 a.m.

The Wisconsin Election Commission says counting and reporting of unofficial results has gone according to law and every valid ballot is being counted and reported accurately.

7:09 a.m.

Michigan’s secretary of state says “Hundreds of thousands of ballots in our largest jurisdictions are still being counted, including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Warren & Sterling Heights.”

5:54 a.m.

Nevada has suspended counting presidential election ballots until 9 a.m. (local time) on Thursday. Election officials still need to count mail-in ballots received on or after Election Day and provisional ballots.

11:03 p.m. Fox News is projecting Trump to win Florida, while CNN and other media outlets are projecting Biden to win California, Oregon and Washington state.

10:31 p.m. The AP calls Utah and Kansas for Trump.

9:19 p.m. Fox News projects Democrats will maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

9:18 p.m. NBC News projects Biden to win Colorado.

9 p.m. According to the AP, Trump has won Arkansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. Biden has won Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia.

8:52 p.m.

Sen. John Cornyn is projected to win reelection in Texas, according to NBC News.

8:48 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell invokes The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during victory speech, saying he “dreamed about doing big things” after witnessing the civil rights leader’s March on Washington speech in 1963.

8:43 p.m.

Republican Jim Jordan of Ohio wins reelection in the state’s 4th Congressional District, according to AP.

Internet outage at Osceola County Supervisor of Elections office in Florida threatens to delay results for “several hours,” reports say.

8:37 p.m.

President Donald Trump’s former physician Ronny Jackson projected to win U.S. House seat in Texas District 13 race, according to CNN.

8:31 p.m.

Fox News projects President Donald Trump to win Arkansas.

Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton defeats Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington to retain U.S. Senate seat, according to AP.

Nevada judge extends poll closing deadlines by one hour after technical issues earlier in the day.

8:30 p.m.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says “Thank you, Illinois” after winning reelection.

8:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump projected to win Alabama, according to The New York Times.

8:22 p.m.

Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee wins reelection to U.S. House.

8:16 p.m.

Joe Biden is projected to win New Jersey, according to AP.

8:15 p.m.

ABC News projects Joe Biden to win Washington, D.C.

Biden wins Rhode Island, AP reports.

8:12 p.m.

Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz wins reelection, according to AP.

8:06 p.m.

Joe Biden wins Connecticut, AP reports.

8:02 p.m.

NBC News projects President Donald Trump to win Oklahoma.

Republican Chris Sununu wins reelection for governor of New Hampshire, according to AP.

8:01 p.m.

President Donald Trump is projected to win Tennessee, according to AP.

Democrat Joe Biden is projected to win Massachusetts, according to AP.

President Donald Trump projected to win Mississippi, according to AP.

AP projects Joe Biden to win Illinois.

7:56 p.m.

Washington D.C. police confirm one person arrested during protest outside White House.

7:48 p.m.

Democrat Charlie Crist wins reelection to the U.S. House in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, according to AP.

7:44 p.m.

Republican Mitch McConnell, the incumbent Senate majority leader, defeats Democrat Amy McGrath in Kentucky, according to Fox News.

7:30 p.m.

Fox News projects President Donald Trump to win West Virginia.

7:30 p.m.

Incumbent Republican Shelley Moore Capito retains U.S. Senate seat by defeating Democrat Paula Hean Swearengin in West Virginia, according to AP.

7:30 p.m.

Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

7:25 p.m.

Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins reelection to the U.S. House in Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, according to AP.

7:19 p.m.

House candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene is declared the winner in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. U.S. officials announced they have halted Iranian retaliatory operation to interfere with the U.S. election, according to the New York Times.

7:18 p.m.

Republican Byron Donalds wins election to U.S. House in Florida’s 19th Congressional District, according to AP.

7:10 p.m.

Democrat Peter Welch wins reelection to the House of Representatives in Vermont’s 1st Congressional District, according to AP.

7:10

President Donald Trump projected to win the state of Indiana, according to CNN and NBC News.

7:04 p.m.

Fox News projects Joe Biden to win Virginia

7:01 p.m.

President Donald Trump projected to win state of Kentucky, according to AP.

7:01 p.m.

Virginia Democrat Mark Warner wins reelection to U.S. Senate, according to AP.

7:01 p.m.

Republican Eric Holcomb wins reelection as Indiana’s governor, according to AP.

7 p.m.

The first polls have closed in Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

6:46 p.m.

The Trump campaign and the Nevada Republican party file a lawsuit asking for polling sites in Clark County to remain open later after experiencing technical difficulties earlier in the day.

6:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump says “we are looking really good all over the country. Thank you!”

4:45 p.m.

The United States Postal Service reportedly failed to meet its deadline to sweep facilities and immediately deliver the remaining mail-in ballots as set by a federal judge. As of this week, the Postal Service said there were some 300,000 ballots that lacked a delivery scan.

The Postal Service issued a statement, saying:

"Beginning in January 2020, the U.S. Postal Service began “all clear” sweeps to ensure Political Mail and Election Mail, which includes voter registration materials, requests for absentee ballots and ballots themselves, were not left behind. These efforts have intensified as we’ve moved closer to Election Day.

"The U.S Postal Inspection Service is in our facilities throughout the country ensuring the physical security of Election Mail in the workplace. Since Oct. 29, the Inspection Service has been conducting daily reviews at all 220 facilities that process ballots. Inspectors walk the facility and observe the conditions of mail. They also review Election and Political Mail logs for accuracy and completeness, review in and around staging areas for Election and Political Mail, scan for delayed mail, ensure Election Mail is processed expeditiously, and ensure no ballots are held for postage due.

"Over the past 14 months, total mail volume surpassed 4.5 billion mail pieces for Political Mail and Election Mail tracked, representing an increase of 114 percent compared to the 2016 election cycle.

“Ballots will continue to be accepted and processed as they are presented to us and we will deliver them to their intended destination.”

4:40 p.m. The Minnesota Supreme Court reportedly has dismissed a Trump campaign and state Republican caucus challenge to late-arriving mail-in ballots.

4:32 p.m. Trump campaign and Nevada state Republican party officials have filed an emergency motion with the Nevada Supreme Court to halt processing some mail-in ballots in Clark County.

2:29 p.m. Poll workers reportedly are not wearing masks at one Chattanooga, Tennessee, polling place.

2:07 p.m. North Carolina voting results reportedly will be delayed at least 45 minutes after the elections board voted to extend Sampson County’s polling place and three others due to earlier issues.

1:35 p.m. A U.S. judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep facilities, including in Philadelphia, this afternoon to ensure no ballots have been held up for delivery.

1 p.m. The FBI is investigating reported robocalls encouraging voters to “stay home and stay safe."

12:41 p.m.: A record 100.2 million people voted early in the presidential election between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Elections Project. It includes 35.7 million in-person early votes and 64.6 million ballots cast by mail.

11:24 a.m. Robocalls telling people to “stay home” reported in “more than one state” amid U.S. presidential elections: News Outlet via CNN.

10:52 a.m.10 a.m. Polls open in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

9 a.m. Polls open in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

8:51 a.m. Nearly 2 million absentee ballots returned in Wisconsin ahead of Election Day, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

8 a.m. Polls open in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

7:57 a.m.

7:35 a.m.

7:12 a.m. Biden wins vote in tiny Dixville Notch, N.H. Biden on Tuesday won all five votes in the presidential election in Dixville Notch, a tiny New Hampshire town near the U.S.-Canadian border known for being one of the first places in which residents cast their ballots.

7 a.m. Polls open in Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina.

6:30 a.m. Polls open in Ohio and West Virginia.

6 a.m. Polls open in New Hampshire and Virginia.

5 a.m. Polls open in Vermont.