Paths to victory remain in the US presidential race for both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, but Biden has more ways to win and appears to be running stronger state-to-state based on the places – cities, mainly – where large absentee votes have yet to be counted.

Biden leads the current electoral tally 238-213.

From there, six states remained to be called as Wednesday dawned in the United States: Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. A final electoral vote, in the second district of Maine, which splits its electoral votes, could fall for either candidate.

Trump:
The simplest way for Trump to find the 54 electoral votes he needs would be to win Pennsylvania and at least three other states. If he does not win Pennsylvania, Trump must make a clean sweep of all five remaining states to get to 270.

But a huge Democratic vote share remained to be tallied in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, meaning Trump could have difficulty hanging on to a narrow lead gained elsewhere in the state. Elsewhere, including in Wisconsin and Michigan, Trump appeared to be in even deeper trouble, in Wisconsin because he was losing with most of the vote counted, and in Michigan because the outstanding vote was heavily Democratic.

Biden:
Biden had many paths to find his remaining 32 electoral votes. His most likely path lay through the Great Lakes states, where the combination of just Pennsylvania and Michigan would net 36 votes. Lacking Pennsylvania, Biden could win by holding down Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada, where he held a clear but narrow lead. A Biden victory in either of the two reddest states in the mix – Georgia or North Carolina – would almost certainly foretell wins elsewhere and a Biden victory.

President Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden both still have possible paths to reach the needed 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House, as states keep counting mail-in ballots that surged amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden 'It ain't over until every vote is counted'.

The race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is on a knife edge, with no clear winner as vote-counting continues.

Results suggest a tight contest in important battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Trump is so far projected to win 23 states, including Texas, Ohio and must-win Florida, having outperformed pollsters' predictions.

The president makes baseless claims of fraud and says he will launch a Supreme Court challenge even though millions of votes are still to be counted.

Biden could take Arizona, but is facing a much tougher fight than expected in Nevada. He says he is "on track to win".