By Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Fernando Alfonso III, Veronica Rocha and Amanda Wills, CNN
From CNN’s Jason Morris and Chuck Johnston
At least three counties across Georgia have stopped counting ballots for the night, county officials told CNN Thursday evening.
This includes, Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb where Hillary Clinton won by a small margin in 2016 and Taylor County, located roughly 100 miles south of Atlanta.
Gwinnett County, the second largest county in the state, has stopped counting ballots for the evening and plan to update their results to Georgia's Secretary of State website on Friday morning.
From CNN's MJ Lee
In the final hours of Thursday night, with Joe Biden continuing to close in on President Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania, the former vice president's campaign is projecting confidence.
The campaign believes it is simply a matter of when – not if – the race will be called for Biden.
“We are confident that we’re going to pass 270,” said one Biden official late Thursday night.
Trump’s speech tonight from the White House filled with lies about the democratic vote-tallying process unfolding across the country only appears to have fueled the Biden team’s confidence, with one official calling the remarks “baseless and a sure sign he’s losing.”
Joe Biden keeps gaining ground in Georgia tonight, and he's now in a near tie with President Trump in that traditionally red state.
It's a different story in Arizona, where Biden's advantage has narrowed, but he stills appears to be on a path toward nearing the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Biden currently has 253 electoral votes, while Trump has 213.
Here's a look at where things stand in the closest contests:
From CNN’s Andy Rose
As the state’s presidential election results remain too close to call, the Democratic governor of Nevada has criticized President Trump’s claim Thursday that the election is being stolen from him.
“President Trump’s comments to the American people tonight on the election were misleading, dangerous, and – most concerningly – false,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a written statement.
Joe Biden led in Nevada by more than 11,000 votes Thursday night, with no further updates expected from the state until Friday.
Saying he had “utmost confidence” in his state’s election officials, Sisolak promised they would continue to make sure every vote is counted, regardless of the President’s statements.
“It was clear that the intent of his message was to undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of our election processes and system, which in turn undermines one of the core pillars of our democracy,” Sisolak said.
President Trump's lead in Georgia continues to shrink and is now at less than 2,000 votes as ballots continue to be counted through the night.
In Georgia, the Election Day votes were counted first and the mail-in ballots second, CNN's John King said. There are roughly 16,000 votes still to be counted in the state, he added.
"We know there are places where we still have votes out. We know they include a small number of ballots in Fulton County, where Atlanta is," King said. "We're waiting to see there are more ballots in Cobb County. Several hundred only but we know they're out there. And you keep coming across that's Fulton, Gwinnett County at 95%. A lot of this is coming from the metro Atlanta area."
The bigger picture: Trump can't afford to lose Georgia's 16 electoral votes if he wants to reach the 270-electoral-vote threshold. He currently has 213 electoral votes.
CNN's John King has more:
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Joe Biden continued to cut into President Trump's narrow lead in Georgia, with new results just released in Clayton Country, CNN's John King reports.
Of the roughly 1,300 votes released around 9:15 p.m. ET, 1,154 were for Biden while 165 were for President Trump, giving Biden 86% of the votes in that tranche.
Clayton County, a Democratic stronghold included in the Atlanta metropolitan area, still has 5,726 uncounted ballots which officials say will be released by midnight.
If Biden continues to win votes at 86% or above, Clayton County alone could put Trump's path to the presidency in serious peril, noted King.
Written by CNN's Leinz Vales/Analysis from John King
Joe Biden’s lead in Arizona continues to narrow, with President Trump receiving 42,276 and Biden with 31,700 in the latest batch of counted votes.
Biden has 50.1% of the vote in the state compared to Trump's 48.5%.
The former vice president leads Trump in the state by approximately 46,257 votes.
“We are seeing, in Arizona, the opposite of what we are seeing in Georgia and Pennsylvania,” John King said during CNN’s special election coverage.
“They have a Republican history in Maricopa County. President Trump carried the county last time. This is one of the most fiercely contested states in American politics.”
Why this matters: Eleven electoral votes are at play in the state. Both candidates need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Biden currently has 253 electoral votes, while Trump has 213.
Officials from Maricopa County, the most populous in the state, are expected to speak in a news conference soon.
CNN's John King breaks down the map:
From CNN's Kevin Flower
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said Thursday the use of Sharpie pens on election ballots "did not result in disenfranchisement."
"Based on correspondence and conversations with Maricopa County officials, we are now confident that the use of Sharpie markers did not result in disenfranchisement for Arizona voters. We appreciate the county’s prompt insight and assurances to address public concerns," Brnovich tweeted.
In a letter replying to the Maricopa County Attorney's office about the issue, Brnovich said his office had received hundreds on inquiries on the topic and would continue to follow up on individual complaints and concerns.
False claims that using Sharpie pens could invalidate ballots in Arizona prompted a top Department of Homeland Security official on Thursday to urge people to stop spreading disinformation online connected to the so-called "#SharpieGate" rumors.
Those rumors fueled outrage among protesters Wednesday night, and prompted a lawsuit, joined by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, filed against Maricopa County election officials.
Some context: Rumors began to spread on social media Wednesday that voters in Arizona who used Sharpie pens on their ballots wouldn't have their votes counted. That confusion prompted state officials, election monitors and a top Trump administration official to push back on "#SharpieGate" rumors.
CNN's Geneva Sand, Bob Ortega, and Ashley Fantz contributed to this report.
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
Maricopa Country officials in Arizona are expected to release around 100,000 more votes tonight, even as protesters gather outside the elections facility in support of President Tump, CNN's Bill Weir reports from Phoenix.
Joe Biden has lost 10,000 votes from his lead today, reports Weir. If the 7 p.m. MT, drop holds a 17 point or greater advantage for Trump, it could mark a comeback for the President in Arizona.
CNN's Bill Weir walks through the latest: