Joe Biden says he is on his way to "a clear victory" and is forecasting more than 300 votes for the electoral college

Joe Biden almost declared the White House was his Friday night and said he had a real mandate for radical change when he showed up shortly after plans for a bigger victory party collapsed when the presidential race was not scheduled.

"We're going to win this race," he said at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, speaking with runner-up Kamala Harris by his side for seven minutes.

Biden was hoping to celebrate a presidential victory on Friday, but the counting process continues in key states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, where he extends his lead over President Donald Trump.

Pennsylvania alone would get him to 273 electoral college votes, while if Arizona and Nevada declare before Keystone State, it would get 270. If he got all four votes – which seems very likely, he would have 302 electoral college votes, just like Trump, in contrast, an overwhelming majority of more than four million.

Pennsylvania could be named Saturday, as could Nevada, and possibly Arizona; Georgia is so close that there is sure to be a recount.

Biden never mentioned Trump directly when he spoke, but instead presented a drastic change in tone, saying that the "purpose of our politics is not an all-out, relentless war".

"No, the purpose of our politics, the work of our nation, is not to ignite the flames of conflict, but to solve problems, guarantee justice, give everyone a fair shot and improve the lives of our people."

“We may be opponents – but we are not enemies. We're Americans, ”he went on. However, that did not prevent him from boasting of victories.

"One of the things I'm especially proud of is how well we've done across America," he told a host of socially distant reporters and staff. & # 39; We'll be the first Democrat to win Arizona in 24 years. We will be the first Democrat to win Georgia in 28 years. & # 39;

"And we rebuilt the Blue Wall in the middle of the country that collapsed four years ago: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin."

Biden didn't answer questions about whether Trump should admit. He said he expected a result in Saturday's presidential competition.

"I hope to speak to you tomorrow," he said.

He advised patience as the vote continues and anxious Americans wait to find out who their next president will be.

“I know it's very slow to see these voting results on TV. Never forget, the numbers aren't just numbers, they represent votes and voters. They exercised this basic right to be heard.

“What is becoming clearer by the hour is the record number of Americans of all races, creeds, and religions who have made the move. It gave us a mandate to take action on COVID, the economy, climate change and systemic racism. They made it clear that they want the country to come together and not move further apart. The people spoke, ”he said.

Ironically, minutes after he finished his speech, it was revealed that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows would be the last person to test positive for COVID-19.

The 61-year-old Meadows was last at the White House on Thursday, CNN reported.

It would, in theory, be critical to a transfer of power, but Biden stated that he and Harris started the transition process without saying whether they had received any help from the Trump administration.

“We don't wait to get the job done. We're starting the process, ”he said.

And he vowed to bring the country together.

Biden said he thinks people are tired of politics being so evil.

“No matter who you voted for, I'm sure of one thing: the vast majority of the 150 million Americans who voted want the vitriol out of our politics. We won't agree on many issues, but at least we can agree to be courteous with one another. We have to leave anger and demonization behind. It is time for us to come together as a nation to heal. It won't be easy, but we have to try.

“My responsibility as President will be to represent the whole nation, and I want you to know that I will work as hard for those who voted against me as I will for those who voted for me. That's the job. That's the job. It's called Due Diligence for All Americans, ”he said.

Trump has yet to respond to Biden's remarks, but he retweeted a number of posts on Twitter supporting his allegations of electoral fraud and fraud as he spoke.

Among the tweets was one from Tom Bevan, co-founder of Real Clear Politics, who criticized Fox News' early call in Arizona, where Biden is currently leading by a narrow margin.

Bevan called the move & # 39;completely unnecessary while pointing out how they waited hours for a call in Florida when Trump gained three points.

Biden has just 17 votes ahead of winning the presidency, while Trump lags behind with 213 votes.

He currently has a 0.4% lead on 49.6% of the total vote in the state, compared to 49.2% on Trump. The Associated Press is waiting for a candidate to have a 0.5% lead to call a race. Anything below this difference would require a recount under state law.

On Friday evening, Justice Samuel Alito announced that all Pennsylvania counties must separate post-polling ballot papers after Republicans appealed to exclude those votes from the total.

Trump's campaign had filed a motion to intervene in a state supreme court ruling that allowed election officials to count postal ballot papers that were postmarked by Tuesday election day and served by Friday.

However, Alito's order comes after Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar already instructed election officials to separate the ballots – which limited Trump's ability to claim the court order as a victory.

And whether or not those ballots are ultimately counted doesn't seem to have any bearing on who gets the state's 20 electoral votes after Biden tops the list with more than 27,130 votes.

The former vice president is close to winning the presidency by 0.4% over Trump in the state.

By late Friday there were about 89,000 postal ballots in Pennsylvania, the majority in Allegheny County, the state's second largest county.

In addition, there may be tens of thousands of tentative ballots that have yet to be tabulated, although the exact number has remained unclear. These ballot papers are counted after officials verify their eligibility to enroll.

Allegheny, which also includes the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, could bring Biden to 270 votes.

He currently has 253 compared to Trump's 213, which means he can win the presidency in two ways.

If he wins Pennsylvania he'll get 20 votes and he won't need Arizona or Nevada anymore. But if he wins Arizona by 11 votes on the electoral college and Nevada by 6 votes, he won't need Pennsylvania anymore.

Biden's plans to reach out to the nation sparked an angry tweet from Donald Trump at the White House, where he allegedly spent the day angry watching TV and talking to confidants.

His legal path to question the election was unclear, and his mathematical path to retain power seemed almost complete. I could make that claim too. Legal proceedings are just beginning! & # 39;

Then he tweeted – apparently somewhat plaintively – that his initial "big leads" had disappeared, which election observers had predicted weeks before the election.

“I had such a big head start in all of these states late into election night, only to see the clues miraculously disappear as the days went on. Perhaps these clues will come back as our legal process progresses! & # 39; he tweeted.

But the Pennsylvania and Nevada polls showed Biden's leadership – not Trump's increase.

At the White House, Trump's inner circle was trying to figure out how to tell him he had lost while defiantly vowing to pursue legal challenges to the Count in a number of states, claiming he was fighting for "electoral integrity" of the day After an extraordinary 17-minute tirade claiming he was the victim of a "conspiracy", the counting of the votes was part of the "fraud".

Biden's campaign prepared an outdoor stage at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware for a prime-time address and warned broadcasters to prepare for a speech.

Close supporters of the Vice President were advised on Friday to drive to the Chase Center in their vehicles. The Democrats have held major drive-in cinema-style events to ensure adequate social distancing of their crowds. Fireworks took place in the Chase Center parking lot as part of his campaign after he accepted the Democratic nomination during the Democratic National Convention, where key speeches were moved to Wilmington due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the race for the former vice president is scheduled, the event is expected to look the same.

The country and the world are waiting for election results from three states; Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona.

One reason for the intensified race is that Pennsylvania law does not allow election officials to process postal ballots until election day.

It's a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden's favor after Trump claimed for months – without evidence – that the postal vote would lead to widespread electoral fraud.

There is a chance the race will not be decided for days and about 102,000 ballots remain to be counted, according to CNN. If there is a difference of less than half a percentage point between Biden and Trump's vote, state law stipulates that a recount must be carried out.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said earlier Friday it was time for Trump to "put on his big boys pants" and admit.

Democrats had long viewed Pennsylvania as part of their "blue wall" – a trifecta that includes Wisconsin and Michigan – that had served as a bulwark in presidential elections for years. In 2016, Trump won each time by less than one percentage point.

Claims to be the state's favorite son, Biden, born in Scranton, has long taken up the idea that he represented neighboring Delaware as the "third senator" of Pennsylvania during his decades. He has also fought extensively in the state from his home in Delaware.

Trump cannot win in Pennsylvania alone. With 214 votes in the electoral college, he would still have to pick up either Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona or Nevada – the other four states where a result has yet to be officially confirmed.

The previous Thursday, Kathy Boockvar told CNN's Jake Tapper, “I think there are about 550,000 odd – you know, plus or minus – ballots that are still being counted today.

& # 39; Some of these may have already been counted but not uploaded yet. But yes, they come in. We're getting 10,000 here, 20,000 here, counties are angry at work.

Pennsylvania said it will continue to count postal votes through Friday as long as they are postmarked November 3rd.

Meanwhile, Trump had sued Pennsylvania to undermine the returned election result.

The Philadelphia and Pittsburgh voting was suspended on Thursday due to the legal battle.

A judge intervened and rejected the federal application.

In Nevada, there are only around 51,000 voices left to be called before Friday and they say they need so much time.

Arizona also says it will need until Friday to get a result for their remaining 450,000 votes.

The Trump campaign had a brief legal victory in Pennsylvania Thursday when a judge ruled ballot observer watched officials count ballots within six feet.

Representatives from both campaigns were in the room to watch the counts, but at a greater distance due to the coronavirus. A district judge approved the Trump campaign, but the state's Supreme Court rejected it.

Complicating the situation in Pittsburgh is the approximately 30,000 outstanding ballot papers that resulted in a salesperson sending the wrong ballots to voters and having to reissue new ballots with the correct races.

Poll workers now have to check those ballots to make sure people don't vote twice. If you submitted the wrong ballot, you did not participate in races for which you are not eligible.

They cannot be legally counted until Friday when Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh sits, swears on a special panel to review those ballots as required by law

Trump's legal team has filed lawsuits on several fronts – to try to curb the flow of presumably pro-Biden postal ballot papers into the system and to enforce better access for observers to presumably dispute more single ballot papers.

They scored a first victory Thursday morning, which former Florida Secretary of State Pam Bondi, a Trump supporter, wielded at a press conference.

The judgment of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania overturns a decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. It will allow Trump watchers to "observe all aspects of the acquisition process within 6 feet while complying with all COVID-19 protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing."

On Twitter, Trump touted it as: "Great Legal Victory in Pennsylvania!"

But then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court knocked it down almost instantly when the Democrats appealed.

The reason for the appeal wasn't because of concern about the observation itself, experts said, but because Democrats said Republicans accepted the rules for observation before they went into effect.

They argue that changing the rules, once agreed, would pave the way for further changes.

That is not the end of the road for the Trump campaign. The big battle with a greater potential to affect the count could result in a challenge to an earlier Supreme Court decision allowing the state to count postal ballots received three days after polling day.

Conservative judges had indicated that there could be another hearing should these later-counted ballots prove decisive.

But a decisive victory for Biden with votes received before election day would undermine the need for the lawsuit – and Biden was with Trump's leadership with hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding.

The Pennsylvania Democrats, aware of potential challenges and alarmed by reports that Republican-controlled lawmakers may seek to intervene, have later segregated postal ballots received to prevent the entire state outcome from being discarded.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General blew up the move on Thursday.

"This question is a matter of constitutional law," he said, noting that it was decided by the Supreme Court. "It was decided that these ballots and they be counted," he told CNN.

“We follow the law here in Pennsylvania. We count these legal votes, ”he said.