Donald Trump has launched legal challenges in five key US states, alleging that election officials are counting fraudulent votes. As a result, the winner of the election may be unclear for weeks and the loss of public confidence in the democratic process may be more prolonged.

Here is what is happening in each state. For the latest election updates, check out our live blog.

Which state faces the challenge of voting?

Michigan

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Michigan, demanding that voting be stopped, claiming that Republicans were not allowed to make “meaningful” counts in several places, but a state court judge dismissed it.

Michigan Court of Columbus Judge Cynthia Stephens handed down the verdict during a court hearing Thursday. He said he planned to give a written verdict this Friday, November.

He added that the accused state minister, Secretary of State Jasleen Benson, was the wrong person to sue because she did not control the logistics of local ballot counting, even though she was the state’s chief election officer. The lawsuit alleges that Ms. Benson, a Democrat, allowed the absentee ballot to be counted without a team of bipartisan observers and challengers. He was accused of “violating the constitutional right of all Michigan voters … to participate in fair and legitimate elections.”

The state was the key to Donald Trump’s victory in Donald Trump’s 2011 election, when he received less than 11,000 votes from Democrats, but this year Joe Biden counted 99 percent of his 1 electoral vote.

Georgia

Joe Biden took a light lead in the main state of Georgia as of Friday morning (GMT).

Votes are still being counted in the state, meaning the race could be exceptionally close – Mr Biden’s lead was just 1,584 votes.

As the situation stands, Mr. Biden has 49.39 percent (2,450,154 votes), while Donald Trump received 49.37 percent (2,448,570 votes).

Georgia is a very important state for the president, which needs more victories from the rest of the states than Mr. Biden to win the presidency.

If Joe Biden wins Georgia, he will have 269 votes in the election – a narrow margin.