Thousands of people took to the streets across the US as protesters from Arizona to Pennsylvania fought over whether votes should continue to be counted in the hotly contested election.
Supporters of Donald Trump chanting, “Stop the count!” descended on a ballot-tallying centre in Detroit on Wednesday night, while across the country hundreds of voters shouted the exact opposite – “Count my vote” – in Philadelphia, in a sign of how fraught the election has become.
Pro-Trump protesters repeated the president’s demand to stop tallying absentee ballots, which he says have been “corrupted” without providing any evidence.
Mr Trump claimed that he had won long before he had reached the necessary 270 Electoral College votes and accused the Democrats of trying to “steal” the election from him.
Tensions simmered in many of the states yet to be called, which includes Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, as well in major cities such as New York, Washington DC and Chicago.
In Portland, Oregon, which saw months of anti-racism protests, hundreds marched through downtown. “The Vote Is Over. The Fight Goes On,” one sign read.
In Phoenix, about 150 pro-Trump protesters, some of them armed, gathered outside the county recorder’s office where a closely watched count of votes that could help determine the outcome of the election was being conducted.
Outside, they turned on popular right-wing news station Fox News, shouting “Fox Sucks”, after the network called Arizona for Joe Biden before the final tally.
The prolonged task of counting this year’s deluge of mail-in votes raised fears that the lack of clarity in the presidential race could spark unrest.
Local partners of Protect the Results – a coalition of more than 165 grassroots organisations, advocacy groups and trade unions – have planned more than 100 events to call for all votes to be counted across the country between Wednesday and Saturday.
People wearing “Make America Great Again” hats protested outside Philadelphia’s Convention Center, where poll workers continued to count absentee ballots.
The Supreme Court ruled in the Democrats’ favour, allowing votes to be counted up until Friday as long as they were postmarked before 8pm on Tuesday.
“How come every time they count Mail-In ballot dumps they are so devastating in their percentage and power of destruction?,” Mr Trump tweeted, referring to the unprecedented number of absentee ballots cast by voters concerned about the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the data, Democrats were far more likely to vote by mail than Republicans, which has meant a “red mirage” has been slowly turning blue.
The ballot-counting process in Pennsylvania, an all-important swing state which could become kingmaker with its 20 Electoral College votes, was always expected to take several days, since mail-in ballots could not begin to be counted until Election Day.
“We want every legitimate ballot counted, but we want every illegitimate ballot discounted,” Robert Jordan, a Trump supporter outside the Convention Center, told The Telegraph. “We don’t want to extend any deadlines or fix any ballots. If they only count the legitimate ballots I think Trump has won.”
On the other side of the street, activists with Count Every Vote in Philadelphia, waved placards and shouted through megaphones “Trump Pence Out!”, referring to Mike Pence, the Vice President.
“I’ve been frustrated with how things have been going,” said Tom McCarthy, an out-of-work chef holding a “My Vote Counts” sign. “Philadelphia Is very volatile, so I’m worried it will become a hotspot.
“It is the birthplace of the nation and it will be the death of the nation.”
Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s lawyer, had called a press conference at the Convention Center and had apparently told the president’s supporters of its location. It was later moved to the airport amid security concerns.
The Telegraph spoke to several who said they had turned out after being emailed by the Trump campaign.
“We won’t let them steal it,” shouted Mr Jordan, one of those who had been invited.
