By the end of election night, the results in six key states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — were still to be called.

On Wednesday, as mail-in ballots were totaled up, Joe Biden gained ground, taking Michigan and Wisconsin and placing him within striking distance of the Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

The count is still in progress in many places. Mr. Biden is leading by a decent margin in Arizona and slightly in Nevada, while President Trump’s advantage in Georgia and Pennsylvania has been narrowing.

As the former vice president formed paths to victory, Mr. Trump continued to raise the specter of litigation and escalated his baseless attacks on the legitimacy of the vote.

Guest: Alexander Burns,a national political correspondent, speaks to us about the latest on an unfinished election.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily




Background reading:

• Mr. Biden may be closing in on victory, but the “blue wave” that some hoped would sweep the Democrats to shore never materialized.
• We have live updates on the progress of the count, and you can follow the election results here.