Joe Biden wins US presidential race, say projections

Democratic candidate Joe Biden is projected to win the US presidential election, narrowly defeating the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump, who has threatened a barrage of legal cases over allegations of ballot fraud.

Read our latest blow-by-blow coverage of the US election and Biden's projected victory here.

The former vice president under Barack Obama secured more than 270 electoral votes after winning the state of Pennsylvania, The Associated Press has reported.

The battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin were also instrumental in Biden's narrow victory.

The two states, along with Pennsylvania form the so-called "blue wall" — a trio of states that Democratic candidates have relied on for winning the White House, but lost to Trump in 2016.

More votes than any candidate in American history 

More than 70 million Americans voted for Biden, which is the largest number of votes cast for a presidential candidate in American history. He beat Donald Trump by a margin of more than 4 million in the popular vote. More than 150 million voters cast ballots in the 2020 election, which is the highest turnout in generations. 

The Biden campaign's record number of votes largely came though the massive number of absentee ballots cast by many Americans seeking to avoid crowded polling stations during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 65 million votes were cast by mail in 2020.

The unprecedented volume of mail in ballots stretched the vote tally out for days, and produced a nail-biter election for both sides. 

Read more: Was the US election about the economy or not?

Trump's legal challenges

The Trump campaign has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots were subject to widespread fraud in critical states like Pennsylvania and Michigan. 

The Trump campaign tried repeatedly to stop the count during the election in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, and accused election stations of denying Republican observers access and prohibiting them from verifying the validity of ballots. 

The Trump team has indicated that the president has no intention of conceding the election anytime soon.

Read more: Opinion: Trump's appalling disregard for democracy in US election

The Trump campaign has asked for a recount in Wisconsin where Biden had a 20,000-lead after 97% of the votes were counted.

The gap between the two candidates is less the 1%, meeting the legal threshold for a recount in the state.

Read more: Could election challenges by Trump and Republicans succeed?

What's next

Lawyers from the Trump and Biden campaign have started to prepare for a legal showdown which could stretch for days and even weeks.

The states have to declare their final results by December 8, also known as the "safe harbor" deadline.

Read more: What is the US Electoral College? A promise of representation or arcane filter on democracy?

The 538 members of the electoral college will cast their votes on December 14 with the results officially released on January 4. The next president will be inaugurated on January 20.

wmr, adi/aw (AP, AFP, Reuters)