Commotion: The Real Electoral Map
The Claim
The “real electoral map" shows Donald Trump leading Joe Biden in electoral votes.
Emerging story
Users across social media spread this claim following Election Day 2020, with some variation into which states had already been called and which states were still waiting on results.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation shows that the final results for the election still need to be called. It remains to be seen how successful the legal challenges will be, and if it’s possible for Trump to win some states that have already been called for President-Elect Biden.
The map shown in the claim was published in the Epoch Times, a far-right, international, multi-language newspaper and media company.
As of Nov. 12, the website had yet to make a call on the election, staying that they would not declare a winner until results were certified and legal challenges were resolved.
While so far, the majority of Trump’s election law suits have failed, with the likelihood of others, like the one in Pennsylvania, considered to be unlikely by law professionals, it is yet to be determined what could happen to change the results.
States won’t finalize their results until December; however, the final vote won’t be official until Congress tallies the electoral votes in January.
While President Trump claims voter fraud has manipulated the results of the election, officials are calling the 2020 presidential election as the most secure election in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press has called the election for Joe Biden. Their electoral map is pictured below.
At the time of this writing, Georgia, with 16 electoral votes, is leaning in favor of being called for President-elect Biden, while North Carolina, with 15 electoral votes, is leaning for President Trump.
