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The mood at the White House today has been sombre, several Trump officials have told CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US.

Some of the president's aides haven't shown up to work today, and the atmosphere is "very empty", says CBS.

Our own reporter at the scene, Tara McKelvey, has had a similar experience.

"A lot of the desks are empty. It feels spooky. Some of the staffers are outside the White House, talking privately on their mobile phones and walking around," she says.

The president was in the Oval Office for at least part of the day - as a Marine stood guard outside the West Wing. So the president has shown up for work.

While he has being firing off tweets in recent days, promising a legal challenge to ensure he is re-elected, aides say he may make another address to the nation again tonight.

They say the chances that he will give a televised address will go up if Biden speaks tonight, as his campaign has signalled he may do.

Regan Morris
BBC News, Arizona

Image source, Reuters

It’s getting wild outside the elections department in Arizona's Maricopa County. Biden currently leads in the state by 1.3%, with 93% of votes counted - a surprising development in a state which has traditionally voted Republican in presidential elections.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who runs the right-wing conspiracy theory website Infowars, is here leading the crowd in chants of “1776!” and “Pelosi Burn in Hell!” Across the street, another group sings the US National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.

Arizona is an “open carry” state, which means you can carry guns in public. Many people here are armed. Heavily armed.

The protests have been rolling here for days and growing. Many of the protest leaders here are from other states, like Jones and Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA, a conservative student group.

A lone Biden supporter with a Biden/Harris sign walked through the crowd to shouts and boos. Women shouted “give him a hug” and urged the crowd to stay peaceful.

The crowd has been peaceful - although poll workers have had to be escorted into and out of work to stay safe from jeering crowds.

Are you starting to get confused by the maths?

Good, because so are most people at this point.

One journalist in Nevada found himself especially confused by the Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria while the official was breaking down what vote tallies we're still waiting on.

See if you can follow along:

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Three top Republican politicians in Georgia - Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, and Speaker David Ralston - have issued a joint statement stressing the importance of "free and fair elections", as the state prepares for a recount of the presidential ballots.

"Any allegations of intentional fraud or violations of election law must be taken seriously and investigated," they said.

"We trust that our Secretary of State will ensure that the law is followed as written and that Georgia's election result includes all legally-cast ballots - and only legally-cast ballots."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, who is also a Republican, told reporters: "Stakes are high and emotions are high. We will not let that distract us from our work".

Earlier today, Raffensberger's aide Gabriel Sterling, who oversees voting for the state, stressed that the reason for the recount is due to how close the race is, and that they have not seen "any widespread irregularities" that would indicate foul play.

With 99% of votes counted, Biden currently leads Trump in Georgia, by just over 1,585 votes.

Chelsea Bailey
Digital producer, BBC News

The race in Pennsylvania is incredibly close because this state is deeply divided over President Trump.

During the campaign, I visited Johnstown, a former steel town where the president held one of his rallies, and talked to Americans who voted for him back in 2016.

Businessman Jim Vasilko remained an enthusiastic supporter. He likes the fact that the president can be brash at times because he’s sharing his unvarnished opinion, instead of political spin.

“I’ll give you any adjective that you want to use to describe President Trump. If you want to say he’s arrogant, bombastic. Okay, I’ll give you that,” Mr Vasilko said. “Now, tell me why he’s a bad president. Nobody has an answer.”

Mr Vasilko lives in a part of rural Pennsylvania that has embraced being called “Trump Country.” But not everyone here backs the president.

Jim and Tammy Fiffick voted for President Trump in 2016, but they now say they regret their decision because of how the administration handled the pandemic.

“He’s not the kind of person you want in a disaster, which is what we’re in,” Ms Fiffick said.

Her husband said he also didn't like Trump’s character. “I mean, realistically, you want someone in leadership that has compassion,” he said. “I think President Trump is so removed from that, just because his status and his affluence that he really doesn’t realise what people have to go through to live day by day.”

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Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who won his Senate re-election bid in Kentucky, tells reporters that this year's election "underscores the beauty of the electoral college" system.

If you need a refresher on that, we've explained it here. Some have argued the system favours less populous states and that its origins - rooted in slavery and boosting the power of white southern voters - mean it should be changed.

"What the electoral college guarantees is you have finality in 50 separate places. You get to a final outcome," he said. "We ought to be grateful to the electoral college in a close presidential election like this."

McConnell also said both sides would have lawyers present to argue close races, and defended President Trump's decision to launch legal challenges.

"I don't think the president should be criticised for suggesting he may have some lawyers, because the other guys are already doing that. In a close election you can anticipate in some of these states you're going to end up in court - it's the American way."

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The scene outside the Clark County Election Department in Nevada has been colourful to say the least, as Trump supporters here want every ballot inside the building counted in the hopes that Trump can catch up with Biden.

Many people have been seen carrying bullhorns to amplify their voices, and the crowd includes supporters of the QAnon conspiracy.

Biden currently has a 1.7% lead in Nevada, with 92% of expected votes counted.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

If you're confused right now, it is totally understandable.

The US does not have a nationwide electoral body that calls election results and remember: the presidential contest is more like 50 separate elections taking place across the country.

A candidate needs a total of 270 electoral college votes, amassed from multiple states - and not the popular vote - to win.

In the absence of a national election system, Americans generally wait for states to be called by decision desks at the big media outlets. These decisions are made after analysing the vote data - and that's why not everyone's electoral map looks the same.

Earlier today, one election analysis group, Decision Desk HQ, declared Joe Biden the winner after projecting a win in Pennsylvania. Outlets that use its info – such as Vox and Business Insider – have run with it.

Meanwhile, other decision desks at the Associated Press and Fox News have already projected a Biden win in Arizona, which put Biden's tally at 264, rather than 253, which we have.

Here at the BBC, we're using data from Edison Research via Reuters news agency, like our US sister network, CBS. We haven't yet projected a winner for Arizona or Pennsylvania because we consider it still too early.

You can see our map of the state of play here.

One thing is clear across the board - Biden is in a good position right now, increasing his leads on Trump. But it's not all done and dusted just yet.

For now, the word of the moment remains: patience.

Here's more from the Democratic mayor of Philadelphia, Jim Kenney. All eyes are on Pennsylvania, where the final tally could decide the 2020 race.

In his speech, he urged everyone to "stay calm and stay above the fray", and praised residents for staying peaceful.

"The votes will continue to be counted until every ballot" is account for, he said, adding that "some, including the president", had made "baseless claims of fraud" without "one iota of evidence".

"What we have seen here in Philadelphia is democracy, pure and simple. The system works, the people have spoken," he said.

Image source, Reuters

President Donald Trump's team has put out a statement, saying that “the American people deserve to have full transparency into all vote counting and election certification".

"This is no longer about any single election. This is about the integrity of our entire election process," the statement says.

The statement accuses Democrats of resisting the "basic principle" that "all legal ballots must be counted and all illegal ballots should not be counted", and says Trump will "pursue this process through every aspect of the law".

"I will never give up fighting for you and our nation," the statement concludes.

Trump has repeatedly suggesting counting postal votes that arrive after election day is "illegal".

But late postal ballots can be counted in around half of US states - as long as they are postmarked by 3 November (election day).

This includes the key states of Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina, where a winner is yet to be projected. The deadlines for how late a postal ballot can arrive varies from state to state.

The president has made multiple, unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, which have been denied by local election officials.

You can read about some of the legal challenges issued by the Trump team here.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Washington

Trump’s tenure has been tumultuous, and his aides have touted his iconoclastic style. Today, they are wondering what will happen next. They are putting on a brave face, though, and no-one seems ready to jump ship.

Grabbing a Sweetgreen salad out of a mini fridge in a back room in the West Wing, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has a positive outlook about their prospects.

“We are feeling good,” she tells me. Then she shuts the door to her office with a soft click.

Downstairs, there are flashes of dark humour: someone plays the Village People’s YMCA, a campaign song, on a phone. “Young man, there’s no need to feel down," goes the song. He snaps his phone shut, and the room falls silent.

The quiet fits the mood: uncertainty and, for some at least, a sense of foreboding.

Senator Lindsey Graham, an ardent Trump supporter, has defended the president, saying Trump should fight hard.

He said Trump deserved a chance to make a case and challenge the election result.

"When a Republican challenges a contest we're accused of undercutting democracy," Graham added.

"Democracy depends upon fair elections."

Watch the full clip below.

Image source, Reuters

We're hearing now from the Registrar of Voters in Clark County, Nevada - Joe Gloria.

He says that all ballots - including ones that need fixing or reviewing - must be counted by 12 November at the latest. But don't worry - it won't take that long to have a sense of who has won.

"We should have a final count on the majority of mail ballots by Sunday," Gloria told reporters.

When asked why things were taking so long, Gloria explained that their process was "very deliberate" and involved several steps, including a machine verifying signatures, staff reviews, ballot separating and counting.

"There's no speeding up that process. We're going to continue to count and make sure we're being accurate."

So here's where things stand so far: There are 63,000 outstanding ballots. They were able to enter 30,403 ballots this morning. By 16:00 local time, we'll get another update. (That's 19:00 EST, 00:00 GMT.)

"We're confident that the work is being done accurately, and that's what our main goal is," Gloria said.

Jim Kenney, the Democratic mayor of Philadelphia, has just spoken at a press conference with election officials.

He started by praising the protesters outside the city's counting location for staying peaceful, and charged that Trump must concede the race given that he is trailing in Pennsylvania and other swing states.

"What the president needs to do is, frankly, put his big boy pants on and acknowledge that he lost," Kenney said.

Election officials say at least 40,000 ballots still remain to be counted, and posted military ballots still have until Tuesday to arrive.

Image source, Reuters

Reality Check
Jack Goodman

Viral tweets alleged that dead people were casting votes in the key state of Michigan, adding to a Trump-led chorus of unproven “voter fraud” claims.

Michigan authorities now have hit back, calling the rumours “misinformation” – and noting that votes from dead people are rejected.

The viral tweets supposedly identified people who had cast an absentee ballot despite being born at the turn of the century and having passed away.

One of the men in the posts seems to have been mixed up with his father, now deceased, who shared the same name and address, according to the Politifact website, external.

Local officials in Michigan told the website that the son’s ballot was erroneously attributed to the father.

We’ve seen other isolated cases of allegations of “dead people” voting – most also explained by family members with the same name, or technical hitches, such as voters being instructed to enter a dummy date of birth if they can’t initially find their voter registration record online.

The rumours have been repeated by influential accounts, including those of the president’s son Don Jr – who of course also shares a name with his father – and the UK's Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney has joined a number of Republicans criticising the president's comments on election fraud last night.

Romney, once a presidential candidate himself, tweeted that saying the election was "corrupt" or "stolen" was wrong, and "damages the cause of freedom here and around the world".

Romney has long been critical of the president - you may also recall he joined Democrats in voting for Trump's impeachment earlier this year.

We're hearing reports from Joe Biden's campaign team in Delaware that he will speak to the nation for a primetime address tonight (in local time that would be roughly five hours from now).

We're told that this is dependent on the race being called by that time.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, here's the state of play at a glance.Pennsylvania

• We may get a result in the near future as Biden's lead over Trump here appears to be growing
• In Philadelphia, officials are still counting postal votes that came in before Election Day
• As of an hour ago, Biden had a lead of over 5,500 votes

Arizona

• Biden's lead here has shrunk, but he's still ahead by over 43,500 votes, the BBC projects
• The state's largest county still has around 142,000 ballots to count, though many US outlets have already projected Arizona for Biden (the BBC has not)

Georgia

• Biden has taken a narrow lead, but Georgia officials said there will be a recount as the margin is so tight
• There are still 4,100 votes left to count, in addition to 8,000 military ballots from overseas that will be counted if they arrive by today

Nevada

• Counting continues here, and Biden has slightly increased his lead to 22,000 votes, US media report
• Officials say 92% of votes have been counted and about 190,000 ballots are outstanding

Vote counting is still ongoing in North Carolina, where Trump leads by 1.4%, with 95% of expected votes counted, and Alaska, where Trump has 62.9% of the vote with 56% of votes counted.

But if Biden wins either Pennsylvania, or any two of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, he would win the White House.

In the words of our North America reporter Anthony Zurcher: "It won’t be long now."

Christopher Giles, Olga Robinson and Shayan Sardarizadeh
BBC's anti-disinformation unit

Image source, Getty Images

How did a misleading post travel from the fringes of the internet to the president's Twitter account?

In the early hours of Wednesday, a post erroneously alleging voter fraud was posted on an extreme message board.

In a matter of hours, it went viral and reached President Trump's Twitter feed.

But how?

The story starts with quickly-corrected vote counting error, which was noticed by the online message board and then amplified on social media.

Read more about how it reached Trump here:

How a misleading post went from the fringes to Trump’s Twitter

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Given the amount of media attention being given to the US presidential candidates, many Chinese companies are trying to capitalise on “Biden” and “Trump” suddenly becoming popular search terms.

Chinese news website Pear Video notes that there's been a surge of Chinese firms rushing to register trademarks, external in either candidate's name. It cites data from China’s Trademark Office of National Intellectual Property, and says that there are currently 154 trademark listings containing the word “Trump”, and 99 containing the word “Biden”.

Many of the applications for “Trump” date back to the last election, but firms began applying for “Biden” trademarks as early as May 2018.

Many are still pending review, but some companies have already gained the right to use these names. Pear Video notes that an agricultural company in central Henan province has already registered the trademark “Trump - Biden”. As the company acts as an agent for the Chinese liquor Maotai, this has led to many speculating whether they might be seeing a US presidency-themed beverage soon on the market.

It’s common for Chinese companies to try and secure local trademarks quickly when a name or company overseas begins to get popular, and it’s a headache for big brands.

In 2016, Apple actually lost a trademark fight to a handbag and leather goods company in China, meaning the latter could continue to use the name “IPHONE” on its products.