A close margin and a large number of outstanding votes are what's making the Pennsylvania contest between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden too early to call.
The Democrat opened a lead of about 6,000 votes Friday morning over Trump, of more than 6.5 million votes cast - a lead of less than 0.1%. State law dictates that a recount must be held if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5%. There are tens of thousands of votes left to count.
Pennsylvania is among a handful of battleground states Trump and Biden are narrowly contesting as they seek the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead early Wednesday, prematurely declared victory in the state.
``We're winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount. We're up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. These aren't even close. It's not like, `Oh, it's close,''' Trump said during an appearance at the White House.
The late counted ballots were overwhelmingly in Biden's favor.
One reason the race tightened: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day. It's a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden's favor after Trump spent months claiming _ without proof _ that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.
There's a possibility the race won't be decided for days. If there is less than a half percentage point difference between Biden and Trump's vote total, state law dictates that a recount must be held.
Democrats had long considered Pennsylvania a part of their ``blue wall'' _ a trifecta that also includes Wisconsin and Michigan _ that for years had served as a bulwark in presidential elections. In 2016, Trump won each by less than a percentage point.
Biden, who was born in Scranton, claims favorite-son status in the state and has long played up the idea that he was Pennsylvania's ``third senator'' during his decades representing neighboring Delaware. He's also campaigned extensively in the state from his home in Delaware.
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