The US presidential election could be settled on Thursday as a handful of battleground states complete their vote counts. Both candidates can still win the election although chances of President Donald Trump look slimmer. 

Democrat Joe Biden has racked up 253 of the 270 electoral votes that he needs if Arizona is included, which Donald Trump’s team says could still swing in the incumbent’s direction.

Expected to report Thursday are Georgia (16 electoral votes), North Carolina (15), and Nevada (6). However, mail ballots sent on or before election day in North Carolina can be counted until November 12. Biden could reach the magic number to gain the White House with a win in any of the three, while Trump needs to capture all three to stay competitive. Nevada, where Biden is favored, could put him precisely at the number needed to win.

Here are some calculations on how much the vote margin needs to be for the trailing candidate to win the election in the state from the uncounted vote:

Georgia, which has not voted for a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton in 1992, was expected to finish its count by noon Thursday (1700 GMT). Two other states are also outstanding: Pennsylvania, with a prize of 20 electoral votes, and Alaska, with three.

Neither is expected to finalise its count before Friday, though Pennsylvania was expected to announce more results on Thursday. Trump was expected to win Alaska. One wild card that could upset these calculations: Arizona.

Based on projections, some US media declared Biden the winner of the southwest state’s 11 electoral votes early Wednesday. But other media remain cautious as a significant portion of the vote had not yet been counted.

Much to Trump’s chagrin, Pennsylvania has decided to allow mailed ballots sent by Election Day but received up to three days afterward to be counted due to coronavirus complications. Authorities expect to complete the count by Friday. Another factor that could keep the battle alive: the Trump campaign has sued to disqualify late-arriving mailed ballots in Pennsylvania, has demanded a recount in Wisconsin, and could file lawsuits or recount demands in other states including Nevada and Georgia.

*The data has been updated till 12:15 A.M IST.