OnPolitics: We swear this election is almost over

Thursday, November 5

Democratic nominee Joe Biden speaks during the final presidential at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

OnPolitics: It's been a day of counting ballots and baseless claims

We know we said yesterday that the election was almost over. But we really mean it this time. The states chipping away at all those ballots.

Trump's lead over Biden narrows in Georgia

Georgia's secretary of state said Thursday evening there are 36,331 ballots that still needed to be counted as of Thursday evening, as the gap between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continues to close.

"With counting continuing in numerous counties throughout #Georgia, as of 5:45 p.m. today there are approximately 36,331 ballots still outstanding," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wrote in a tweet.

Just hours earlier, Gabriel Sterling, Georgia's voting system implementation manager, said during a Thursday afternoon briefing that there were 47,300 outstanding ballots.

Shortly after Raffensperger's tweet, Chatham County, where Savannah is located, reported the bulk of their outstanding votes.

There are now 3,635 votes, or about 0.1%, that separate Trump and Biden.

Trump makes baseless claims

In his first address since his post-election speech in the early hours of Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump appeared to shrug off his Democratic challenger Joe Biden's growing lead in the presidential election and made baseless claims that the election was driven by fraud and corruption.

'If you count the legal votes I easily win. If you count the illegal votes they can try to steal the election from us," Trump told reporters in the White House briefing room, repeating a statement his campaign sent out earlier Thursday on his behalf.

More: Donald Trump's aides are increasingly gloomy – and mad at other GOP officials

There has been no evidence of voter fraud. Several states have experienced delays in counting a surge of mail-in ballots - legally cast - this year due to the pandemic.

The president's campaign has mounted several legal challenges in states that could tip the election in favor of Biden, undercutting the validity of the election system. Two lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed earlier on Thursday.

"Our goal is to defend the integrity of the election," he said. "We will not allow the corruption to steal such an important election."

Trump, without providing any evidence, also accused Democrats of trying to "steal" and "rig the election. He refused to take questions about his claims after the 17-minute speech.

Biden urges patience, remains confident of victory

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden urged patience Thursday in waiting for ballots to be counted in the election against President Donald Trump.

"I ask everyone to stay calm – all the people to stay calm," Biden said. "We'll know very soon."

The statement came after Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, received a briefing at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Delaware, about the economy and the coronavirus pandemic.

"We continue to feel very good about where things stand," Biden said. "We have no doubt that when the count is finished, Sen. Harris and I will be declared the winners."

What else is going on?

•	Furious House Democrats unload as leadership
•	Will the Supreme Court ride to Donald Trump's rescue?
•	Donald Trump's aides are increasingly gloomy