The US presidential election is all set to go down to the wire. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has managed a decent lead over the Republican incumbent President Donald Trump and is engaged in a neck-and-neck race in other key states. Though Trump has won more number of states, Biden has won the larger states that have more electoral college votes, who ultimately determine the winner of the presidential election in the United States.

Biden has 253 college electoral votes, compared to Trump’s 214, according to The New York Times. A candidate needs the magic figure of 270 electoral votes out of 538 to make his way to the White House.

Biden is leading in popular votes, with 50.4% of the votes against Trump’s 47.9%, according to The Times.

Swing states

After a razor-thin fight in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, Biden claimed both. They collectively account for 26 electoral votes. He has also won the state of California that has the highest number of 55 electoral votes.

Although several opinion polls showed Trump trailing in major states, his performance on Election Day was better than anticipated. Not only did he win states where he was expected to win, but he also won the larger states, such as Florida and Texas, which collectively have 64 electoral votes.

States that will now decide the result

Out of the 50 US states, results in five are still not clear. These are: Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. 

While Biden is leading in Nevada and Arizona, Trump is leading in the other three states, according to The Times.

According to Associated Press, Biden has won the state of Arizona that has 11 electoral votes. 

Trump alleges ‘fraud’

In an address at the White House on Wednesday, the incumbent alleged “fraud” and said he would go to the Supreme Court. Although he had raised concern over the system of mail-in ballot even before the election, he has sharpened his attack as the results started coming out.

Also read: As Joe Biden inches closer to magic number, Donald Trump unleashes barrage of tweets

“Our lawyers have asked for ‘meaningful access’, but what good does that do? The damage has already been done to the integrity of our system, and to the Presidential Election itself. This is what should be discussed!” Trump said in a tweet late on Wednesday. 

Biden on the other hand told his supporters to “keep faith in the process and in each other” and has claimed he would cross the 270-mark.