Protesters Gather Downtown For 'Defend The Election' Rally
CHICAGO (CBS Chicago/CBS News) -- Protesters marched through the downtown area early Wednesday evening, concerned about what President Donald Trump might do with regard to the election.
The group gathered at Daley Plaza in the late afternoon for the Defend the Election rally. They are worried that President Trump will stop election workers in battleground states from counting the remaining votes.
The group marched along downtown streets before surrounding Trump Tower, 401 N. Wabash Ave.
Police noted the demonstration was peaceful.
Similar protests were held in other cities, including New York and Philadelphia. But in Detroit, a crowd gathered in front of the TCF Center demanding that the vote count in Michigan be stopped.
CBS News projects Joe Biden is the winner in Wisconsin and Michigan, capturing 26 electoral votes and inching closer to the 270 he needs to capture the White House and deny President Trump a second term.
Biden's victory in two states that were key parts of Mr. Trump's coalition in 2016 significantly limits the president's pathways to reelection, with just four states still considered toss-ups in CBS News' estimates. Biden currently holds a lead of 20,510 votes in Wisconsin with nearly all votes counted, and a lead of roughly 61,000 votes in Michigan.
Even before news organizations began projecting Biden to win Wisconsin Wednesday afternoon, Bill Stepien, the president's campaign manager, said the campaign would "immediately" seek a recount, which is permitted in Wisconsin when the margin of victory is less than 1 percentage point. Biden's lead in the state stands at about 0.6 percentage points.
Stepien said the campaign also moved to file suit in Michigan court to stop officials from counting ballots there, saying campaign observers have been denied adequate access to vote-tallying locations. The campaign followed that announcement with three more legal actions in Pennsylvania, where Biden has cut into the president's lead as votes were counted over the course of the day.
The president has falsely claimed victory in the election, portraying the orderly counting of millions of legally cast votes as an illegitimate effort to steal the election and vowing to challenge the continued counting all the way to the Supreme Court. Elections officials across the country said Wednesday that the vote-counting process has gone smoothly, with few if any irregularities.
CBS News still considers North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia toss-ups, while Biden is likely to Arizona and Nevada. Biden is currently projected to win states that control 253 electoral votes, just 17 votes shy of the 270 needed to win the White House. A projected win in Arizona and Nevada would give him precisely 270 votes. The president's total stands at 213.
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