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Live Election Updates: Joe Biden elected next president of the United States

5:00 p.m. Sunday: Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. will host a press conference in Las Vegas, Nevada with former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt and Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp.

Leaders of valley Democrat and Republican groups provided comments to News Channel 3 regarding the announcement by the Associated Press that Vice President Joe Biden has won the 2020 presidential election.

Statement from Joy Meidecke, President, East Valley Republican Women Federated:

"I'm disappointed.  It's not over yet.  We'll see what comes of it.  I've submitted local questionable ballots to the district attorney.  This has turned the country upside down.  We need to show ID to vote.  It's the right thing to do.  We need to vote at the polls.  This is not over yet."

Statement from Dori Smith, President, Democrats of the Desert:

"I'd like to thank everyone at the County Registrar of Voters office for their service.  This is wonderful.  We are just thrilled.  We are happy and excited that Joe and Kamala will bring decency, empathy, integrity and humanity back to the White House.  The first black, female Vice President being from California is especially sweet."

3:30 p.m. Saturday: ABC News today announced a primetime special on President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ address to the nation airing Saturday, November 7 at 5 p.m. PST.

8:30 a.m. Saturday: Democrat Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump to become 46th president of the United States with projected win of Pennsylvania.

President-elect Joe Biden made this statement Saturday morning, "I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris. In the face of unprecedented obstacles, a record number of Americans voted. Proving once again, that democracy beats deep in the heart of America. With the campaign over, it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric behind us and come together as a nation. It’s time for America to unite. And to heal. We are the United States of America. And there’s nothing we can’t do, if we do it together."

President Donald Trump made this statement, "We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: they don't want the truth to be exposed. The simple fact is this election is far from over. Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor. In Pennsylvania, for example, our legal observers were not permitted meaningful access to watch the counting process. Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media.“Beginning Monday, our campaign will start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld and the rightful winner is seated. The American People are entitled to an honest election: that means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election. It remains shocking that the Biden campaign refuses to agree with this basic principle and wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters. Only a party engaged in wrongdoing would unlawfully keep observers out of the count room – and then fight in court to block their access.  
“So what is Biden hiding? I will not rest until the American People have the honest vote count they deserve and that Democracy demands."

8:00 p.m.:

Joe Biden did not declare victory in his address to the nation Friday night, but he looked ahead at what could be a win soon.

"We don't have a final declaration of victory yet, but the numbers tell us it's clear -- tell us a clear and convincing story. We’re going to win this race. Just look at what has happened since yesterday. 24 hours, we were behind in Georgia, now we're ahead, and we are going to win that state," Biden said.

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7:30 p.m.

Joe Biden is expected to speak with the next hour, according to multiple reports.

6:30 p.m.

We're still waiting for word on when Joe Biden will take the stage to address the nation on the election results.

The Biden campaign advises that if there isn't an independent call Friday night, Biden will not declare victory. He will most likely speak as he has the past couple of days.

Biden is still in the lead in Pennsylvania (+21,705), Arizona (+29,861), Nevada (+22,657), and Georgia (4,289).

2:00 p.m.

The latest vote totals in Georgia show Biden's lead nearly tripled what it was a few hours ago.

Biden now leads Georgia by 4,263 votes.

1:00 p.m.

Joe Biden remains in the lead in Pennsylvania (+14,281), Arizona (+39,769), Nevada (+20,137), and Georgia (+1,555).

He is expected to address the nation Friday night in a prime time address. There has been no set time released as to when Biden will make his address. You will be able to watch a live stream of the speech here on News Channel 3 as soon as it starts.

5:50 a.m. Friday

Democrat Joe Biden is now leading President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

By Friday morning, Biden overtook Trump in the number of ballots counted in the state, which Trump must win to have a shot at reelection. Biden now holds a nearly 6,000-vote advantage.

The contest is still too early for The Associated Press to call. Votes in the state are still being counted.

1:40 a.m. Friday

Democrat Joe Biden is now leading President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Georgia.

By Friday morning, Biden overtook Trump in the number of ballots counted in the battleground, a must-win state for Trump that has long been a Republican stronghold. Biden now has a 917-vote advantage.

Thousands of ballots are still left to be counted - many in counties where the former vice president was in the lead.

11:00 p.m.

The races in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona remain very close.

President Donald Trump leads Pennsylvania by 18,299 votes while his lead is in Georgia is down to just 1,267 votes.

Biden's lead in Arizona also shrunk slightly. Thursday night. He leads by 42,052 votes.

6:30 p.m.

Joe Biden’s lead in Arizona continues to narrow, with President Trump receiving 42,276 and Biden with 31,700 in the latest batch of counted votes.

Biden has 50.1% of the vote in the state compared to Trump's 48.5%.

Meanwhile, the latest results from Georgia and Pennsylvania show a Trump's lead in Georgia is shrinking.

Biden is only behind Trump by less than 1,902 votes in Georgia. In Pennsylvania, only 42,142 votes separate the two candidates.

A federal judge has denied a bid by President Donald Trump's campaign to stop the vote count in Philadelphia over observer access, urging the two sides to instead forge an agreement.

President Donald Trump is expected to make remarks from the White House at 3:30 p.m. PST.

4:00 p.m.

In his remarks Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump continued to make claims of illegal ballots being counted but did not supply specific evidence.

According to the Associated Press, state and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud.

AP has not declared a winner in the presidential race, with a number of battleground states still too early to call.

3:00 p.m.

2:10 p.m.

Pennsylvania's Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar held a press conference at 2:15 p.m. PST to provide updates on the state's general election.

1:20 p.m.

Joe Biden made a short speech addressing the coronavirus pandemic and the status of the ongoing vote count, calling for every vote to be counted and patience.

1:10 p.m.

Joe Biden is expected to speak in a few minutes.

10:30 a.m. Thursday

A Michigan judge has dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's campaign in a dispute over whether Republican challengers had access to the handling of absentee ballots.

Judge Cynthia Stephens noted that the lawsuit was filed late Wednesday afternoon, just hours before the last ballots were counted. She also said the defendant, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, was the wrong person to sue because she doesn’t control the logistics of local ballot counting, even if she is the state’s chief election officer.

The lawsuit claimed Benson, a Democrat, was allowing absentee ballots to be counted without teams of bipartisan observers as well as challengers. She was accused of undermining the “constitutional right of all Michigan voters … to participate in fair and lawful elections.”

Benson, through state attorneys, denied the allegations.

8:45 a.m. Thursday

A judge in Georgia has dismissed a lawsuit by the state Republican Party and President Donald Trump's campaign that asked him to ensure a coastal county was following state laws on processing absentee ballots.

Chatham County Superior Court Judge James Bass did not provide an explanation for his decision Thursday at the close of a roughly one-hour hearing. The county includes the heavily Democratic city of Savannah.

The suit had raised concerns about 53 absentee ballots that poll observers said were not part of an original batch of ballots. County elections officials testified that all 53 ballots had been received on time.

7:20 a.m. Thursday

Arizona state officials say there are about 450,000 votes still to be counted in Arizona, a Western presidential battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a 2.35 percentage point lead over Republican Donald Trump, an advantage of about 68,000 votes.

The vast majority of the ballots still being counted are from Maricopa County, the most populous area of the state. The next update from elections officials in Arizona is expected around 9 p.m. EST.

6:20 a.m. Thursday

Democrats scoffed at the legal challenges President Donald Trump’s campaign filed Wednesday in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia. The new filings join existing Republican legal challenges in Pennsylvania and Nevada, and demand better access for campaign observers to locations where ballots are being processed and counted, and raise absentee ballot concerns.

11:40 p.m. Wednesday

Maricopa County in Arizona (which includes Phoenix) finally released results following multiple delays Wednesday night.

Maricopa's release shrunk Biden's lead in the state by 10,000 votes.

As of 11:45 pm PST, Biden has 1,469,341 votes in Arizona, while President Trump has 1,400,951 votes. According to ABC15 in Phoenix, there are around 430,000 ballots left in the state.

Maricopa is expected to release more results by 7 p.m. Thursday.

In addition, Nevada which is separated by around 8,000 votes will release new results at 9 a.m.

11:15 pm

New totals are still not in for either Arizona or Georgia.

9:45 pm

According to ABC15 in Phoenix, the release of results in Maricopa County has been pushed back to around 10:30 p.m. dur to delays

9:25 pm

ABC15 in Phoenix is reporting that the next release of election results from Maricopa County will take place at 11 p.m.MST (or 10 pm PST).

Meanwhile, crowds have gathered outside the ballot processing center in Phoenix.

Sheriff’s deputies were guarding both the outside of the building and the counting inside.

Wearing Trump gear, members of the crowd chanted, "Fox News sucks" in anger over the network declaring Joe Biden the winner in Arizona.

7:30 pm

We are still awaiting results for Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, and Georgia.

New vote totals in Arizona and Georgia are expected to come down tonight.

Download the News Channel 3 alerts on the Apple Store or Google Play and get the latest alerts on the Presidential race as states are called

5:30 pm

Local Congressman Raul Ruiz joined News Channel 3 at 5 pm to discuss last night's election results.

Ruiz holds a sizeable lead in the race for the 36th Congressional District and declared victory shortly after 9 pm. His opponent, Erin Cruz, has indicated that she will not concede and wants every vote counted.

View this post on Instagram

Your vote matters! #election #nonconcession

A post shared by Erin Cruz (@realerincruz) on Nov 3, 2020 at 10:47pm PST

5:00 pm

The latest local election results are in.

According to the registrar's office, election results released today include smaller numbers. A much larger amount will be released tomorrow.

Races that saw changes in vote totals includes Indio -District 5, La Quinta Mayor, La Quinta City Council, and Palm Desert District 2.

4:00 pm

AP: Trump campaign asks judge to order Ga. election officials to follow law on storing, counting absentee ballots

(Note: The AP issued a correction to note that Trump campaign filed suit asking judge to order Georgia election officials to follow the law on storing and counting absentee ballots. The suit does not aim to have Georgia pause the vote count.

In addition, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters will be releasing more local results coming up at 5 pm.

1:35 pm

CBS News & CNN has projected Joe Biden to win Michigan.

1:15 pm

Joe Biden says he’s not ready to declare victory as vote counting continues in the presidential election, but he says, “When the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners.”

11:10 am November 4

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to speak shortly on election results. When he begins, you can watch it live in the player below.

It remains too early for The Associated Press to call the presidential race.

The Democratic presidential candidate will issue a televised address in Wilmington, Delaware. He’s been watching the returns come in with family from his home there.

Biden’s campaign manager expressed confidence in an eventual win for Democrats during a call with reporters earlier Wednesday, pointing to their projections of the outcome in Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

But the AP is not calling the presidential race yet because neither candidate has secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. The AP called Arizona for Biden, but several key states remain too early to call: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada.

As it stands, Biden has 238 electoral votes, while Trump has 214.

The fate of the presidency hangs in the balance as President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden battle for three familiar battleground states - Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania - that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

11:00 am November 4

President Donald Trump’s campaign says it has filed a lawsuit trying to halt the vote count in battleground Michigan.

The latest counts gives Trump’s Democratic challenger Joe Biden a small lead, but the race is still too early to call.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says in a statement Wednesday that the campaign “has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.”

He says a suit was filed Wednesday in the Michigan Court of Claims “to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted.”

Michigan is a critical battleground state that helped deliver Trump the presidency four years ago, along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Neither Wisconsin or Pennsylvania has been called yet.

9:00 am November 4

After a short overnight break, Riverside County Registrar employees are now continuing to process ballots, and expect it to be weeks before all races are certified.

A News Channel 3 team reporting from their office this morning learned that employees are opening more envelopes to remove the ballot forms on Wednesday. Ballots from Tuesday night have been tabulated; employees are now opening ballots for the next round to be counted.

Originally, county representatives told News Channel 3 the next round of updated results would be posted on Friday, however, they’ve since posted on their website the next updated results will be posted Thursday at 6 p.m.

Click here for updated election results in Riverside County.

Full details: Riverside County Registrar to continue ballot counting for days, weeks

12:00 am

AP: Joe Biden wins Arizona.

Proposition 22, which will again classify app-based transportation and delivery drivers as independent contractors, was approved by voters today after receiving the most campaign contributions in California history.

Full Details: Prop 22 initiative approved

11:30 pm

11:00 pm

President Trump is expected to speak shortly.

10:45 pm

Still no word on when President Trump will take the stage to make his first public statements.

10:08 pm

AP: President Donald Trump wins Texas

9:47 pm

Joe Biden tells supporters in Delaware 'we just have to be patient' in waiting for election results.

Get alerts on major election updates by downloading the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store or Google Play

Meanwhile, President Trump tweeted that he will be making a statement tonight.

9:30 pm

Joe Biden is expected to make remarks coming up at 9:30 pm.

The Associated Press has called Florida for President Donald Trump, the biggest prize among the perennial battlegrounds and a state crucial to his reelection hopes.

Meanwhile here in the Valley, Congressman Raul Ruiz made his first remarks since the first batch of results were released.

9:05 pm

The second batch of local results has arrived. This batch has the mid-day voters, a county spokesperson told News Channel 3.

9:00 pm

We're expecting to hear from some local candidates soon, including Congressman Raul Ruiz, his challenger Erin Cruz, and Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas

8:30 pm

The Riverside County Registrar's Office has posted the first batch of local results. Here are some how some of the key valley races are going so far.

8:10 pm

AP: President Trump wins Utah

Meanwhile, here in Riverside County, voters are still outside some of the Voter Assistance Centers waiting to cast their votes. Polls are closed but voters who were in line by 8 pm are still able to cast their vote.

Voters in Voter Assistance Center in Palm Desert wait to cast their vote after 8 pm

8:02 pm

The Associated Press has called California, Oregon and Washington for Joe Biden

8:00 pm

Polls in California have officially closed. Voters still in line by 8 pm are still able to case their ballots.

Meanwhile, the AP has projected Joe Biden the winner of New Hampshire.

7:30 pm

President Trump wins Missouri, the Associated Press reports.

7:00 pm

The Associated Press declares President Trump winner of Kansas.

In addition, Republican Tommy Tuberville wins election to U.S. Senate from Alabama, beating incumbent Democrat Sen. Doug Jones.

6:38 pm

Joe Biden has won Colorado, according to the AP.

In addition, Democrat John Hickenlooper wins election to U.S. Senate from Colorado, beating incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner. This is the first seat to flip in the U.S. Senate.

Gardner was considered one of the nation’s most vulnerable senators.

6:30 pm

The Associated Press has called the District of Colombia for Joe Biden.

Many voter centers here in the Coachella Valley remain active.

Palm Desert Community Center Polling Center is packed with voters at shortly before 6:30 p.m.

Voter Assistance Centers in Riverside County close at 8 p.m. As long as you are in line by 8 pm, you will be allowed to vote.

BALLOT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

Click Here for the Full List of Ballot Drop Off Locations in Riverside County

VOTER ASSISTANCE CENTER LOCATIONS

Click Here for the Full List of Voter Assistance Locations in Riverside County

To find the center closest to you, you can use this interactive map here.

6:00 pm

AP has called North Dakota, Nebraska, Louisiana, Wyoming, and South Dakota for Trump.

Biden wins New Mexico, New York

In addition, there is another historic note in this election. Sarah McBride has been elected as the first out transgender state senator in U.S. history.

5:52 pm

5:30 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) - Donald Trump wins Arkansas.

5:00 pm

The Associated Press declared President Trump as the winner in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama

Biden has won Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Polls closed in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

Polls in Arkansas will close at 5:30 p.m. PST

The next set of poll closures at 6 p.m. PST will include 14 states:

  • Arizona 
  • Colorado
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Dakota
  • South Dakota
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

4:30 pm

Most polls in North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.

The Associated Press has declared President Trump the winner in West Virginia. Joe Biden has been declared the winner of Virginia.

The last Democrat to win a presidential race in West Virginia was Bill Clinton in 1996.

Democrat Hillary Clinton won Virginia over Republican Donald Trump in 2016

The next set of polls close at 5 p.m. PST. That will include:

  • Alabama
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida* (Polls close at 7 p.m. ET outside of Florida's Panhandle) 
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts 
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • New Hampshire* (Poll closings can vary by municipality, to find the time your polling place closes, click here.)
  • New Jersey
  • Oklahoma
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Tennessee

4:05 pm

The Associated Press has called the first two states.

President Donald Trump has won Kentucky, and Democrat Joe Biden has carried Vermont.

4:00 pm

Statewide polls in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky have closed. 60 electoral votes are up for grabs. Remember 270 electoral votes are needed to win.

Results should continue to come in shortly.

Polls close in several more states at 4:30 p.m. PST.

Polls here in California close at 8 p.m. We should start getting the first batch of results for our local races shortly after 8.

Get alerts on major election updates by downloading the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store or Google Play

Staff hard at work counting votes at the Riverside County Registrar's Office
(Taken at 3:30 p.m.)

3:00 pm

The first polls in the United States have closed. This is for most of Indiana and Kentucky. Polls in the Western parts of those states will remain open another hour. Early results are expected to be released shortly.

The next polls are expected to close at 4 p.m. PST

At 4 pm, first polls in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Indiana, and Kentucky will close.

Polls here in California close at 8 p.m. As long as you are in line by 8 pm, you will be allowed to vote.

2:30 pm

According to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters' Office, as of 11/3/2020 a total of 1,243,154 ballots have been issued and 645,799 have been returned.

1:00 pm

We've had no major incidents reported at ballot drop-off locations across Riverside County.

Remember, the Department of Justice says that anyone with complaints of election fraud or inaccurate ballots can give them a call at 310-477-6565 or email voting.section@usdoj.gov.

News Channel 3's Madison Weil has more on how to find a Voter Assistance Center to cast your ballot

7:00 am

Election Day is here! Polls opened at. 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. PST. As long as you are in line by 8 pm, you will be allowed to vote.

We'll have you covered with all the latest election updates in this article as the day goes by.

For those still looking to learn more about the candidates on your ballot, News Channel 3's Peter Daut took a look at the big races here in the Coachella Valley.

Want to vote in person? There are 130 Voter Assistance Centers countywide where voters can cast their ballot in-person.

"An individual is not assigned to a specific Voter Assistance Center. A voter can go to any center," said Brooke Federico, Public Information Officer, County of Riverside. 

BALLOT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

Click Here for the Full List of Ballot Drop Off Locations in Riverside County

VOTER ASSISTANCE CENTER LOCATIONS

Click Here for the Full List of Voter Assistance Locations in Riverside County

To find the center closest to you, you can use this interactive map here.

Article Topic Follows: Your Vote

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Jesus Reyes

KESQ News Team

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