UPDATED: 5:20 a.m. ET — Results from Milwaukee have flipped Wisconsin to Biden, who has taken a lead in the state by a thin margin -- about 8,000 votes.

UPDATED: 4:20 a.m ET — Biden is projected to win Arizona, which would be the first victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in the Grand Canyon State in 24 years.

UPDATED: 4:10 a.m ET — Biden's campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, issued a statement condemning Trump's White House speech: “The president’s statement tonight about trying to shut down the counting of duly cast ballots was outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect. It was outrageous because it is a naked effort to take away the democratic rights of American citizens." Dillon also noted that "the counting will not stop.”

UPDATED: 4:05 a.m ET — In Arizona's Senate showdown, astronaut and retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly defeated Republican Sen. Martha McSally.

UPDATED: 3:45 a.m ET — Former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, who worked with Trump during debate preparation, criticized the president’s White House speech: “It’s a bad strategic decision. It’s a bad political decision.”

UPDATED: 3:20 a.m ET — Benjamin L. Ginsberg, the Republican election lawyer who co-chaired the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, said Wednesday that Trump should “let all the votes be counted,” following the president's attacks on efforts to legitimately count votes.

UPDATED: 3:15 a.m ET — Philadelphia will not have an updated number on mail-in ballots until 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Lisa Deeley, head of the Philadelphia City Commissioners, a bipartisan board in overseeing elections and voter registration.

UPDATED: 3:10 a.m ET — Joe Biden has won at least three of Maine’s four electoral votes: the statewide tally and the 1st Congressional District, which is good for three electoral votes. Trump wanted to win one electoral vote in a victory in the state's 2nd Congressional District, which hasn't been called.

UPDATED: 2:05 a.m ET — In his speech at the White House, Trump falsely stated, “we already have won." In the East Room, the president said, "Millions and millions of people voted for us tonight. And a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchi se that group of people, and we won’t stand for it."

Trump said states where tallies show him leading should be called in his favor, despite the fact that many votes still aren't counted. Trump baselessly claimed fraud is being committed: "This is a fraud on the American public. This is an embarrassment to our country."

UPDATED: 2:05 a.m ET — Biden has won the single electoral vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, according to multiple reports. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Steve Daines is projected to have won in Montana, according to the Associated Press.

There are still millions of ballots throughout the nation yet to be counted.

UPDATED: 12:45 a.m. ET — "I believe we're on track to win this election," Biden tells supporters in Delaware. He calls for every vote to be counted, and notes that he has likely won Minnesota and Arizona.

UPDATED: 12:40 a.m. ET — CNN projects Biden wins Minnesota, a key battleground state. Trump is also projected to win key swing state Florida, where his winter residence, Mar-a-Lago, is located.

UPDATED: 12:25 a.m. ET — Trump will win Montana, the New York Times projects. Trump is also projected to win Iowa, a battleground state that had been targeted by the Biden campaign.

UPDATED: 12 a.m. ET — Polls close in Hawaii.

Fox News projects Biden will win Arizona, with Trump winning Ohio.

UPDATED: 11:15 p.m. ET — CNN reports that Milwaukee officials say they will have a tally of in-person Election Day votes within two hours but, all results of early votes won’t be released until early Wednesday morning.

UPDATED: 11 p.m. ET — Polls close in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

CNN projects Biden will California, Washington and Oregon.

UPDATED: 10:40 p.m. ET — Biden projected to win New Hampshire, according to CNN.

UPDATED: 10:30p.m. ET — Trump projected to win in Missouri, according to the New York Times.

UPDATED: 10 p.m. ET — Polls close in Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah.

UPDATED: 9:40 p.m. ET — Biden projected to win Colorado, according to the New York Times. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is also projected to defeat Republican incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner.

UPDATED: 9:30 p.m. ET — Biden has a slim lead over Trump in Ohio, according to the New York Times, 50.7% to 48%, with 60% of the estimated vote in. Ohio is a must-win for Trump.

UPDATED: 9 p.m. ET — Polls close in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Biden projected to win New York and New Mexico, according to the New York Times.

Trump projected to win Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.

UPDATED: 8:33 p.m. ET — Trump projected to win Arkansas, according to the New York Times. Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton skates to reelection.

UPDATED: 8:20 p.m. ET — Trump projected to win Tennessee, according to CNN.

UPDATED: 8:10 p.m. ET — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has defeated well-funded Democratic challenger Amy McGrath in Kentucky.

UPDATED: 8:00 p.m. ET — Polls close in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee.

CNN projects Trump will win Oklahoma. Biden projected to win Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

UPDATED: 7:43 p.m. ET — Biden projected to win Virginia, according to the New York Times.

UPDATED: 7:33 p.m. ET — Republicans sweep West Virginia. Trump carries state again, while Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and Gov. Jim Justice win reelection.

UPDATED: 7:30 p.m. ET — Polls close in key battleground states Ohio and North Carolina. Polls also close in West Virginia.

UPDATED: 7:00 p.m. ET — Polls close in key battleground state Georgia, along with Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

CNN projects Trump wins Indiana. The New York Times projects Biden will win Vermont.

UPDATED: 5:33 p.m. ET — A District of Columbia federal judge on Tuesday ordered Postal Service inspectors and law enforcement agents to sweep 12 mail processing facilities in 15 states with strict absentee ballot deadlines to search for any misplaced votes and rush their delivery.

Original Story:

Billions of people around the world on Tuesday await the results of an unprecedented U.S. election. In a battle between two septuagenarian candidates with broadly different political platforms and philosophies, the election could potentially set record turnout numbers, even at a time when a pandemic has killed over 230,000 Americans.

One day before Tuesday's election, more than 98 million ballots had already been cast -- roughly 71% of the 138 million ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election. Experts predict that the turnout could well exceed 150 million.

The presidential election is a two-person race, with Republican President Donald Trump trailing in most polls to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. According to election forecaster FiveThirtyEight, Biden has an 89% chance of winning the electoral college with an average of 348.5 electoral votes -- substantially more than the 270 needed to win the election. Biden, who served for eight years as vice president, is predicted to win the popular vote and leads Trump in two polls released Monday by 10 points and 7 points.

While Trump trails in most polls, Republicans have a tenuous hold on the Senate. Democrats have hopes of flipping seats in Maine and South Carolina that have long been dominated by Republicans, as well as seats in Arizona, Colorado and Georgia, among others.

International Business Times will provide election updates throughout the day.

Donald trump Joe biden Trump