Results of polls have shown that Democrat Joe Biden holds a national lead over President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election.

Campaign activities will stop and voters will have their say on Tuesday in the country.

AFP reports a RealClearPolitics average of surveys had Biden up 7.2 percentage points Sunday.

But there have been repeated warnings from both camps that the polls could be wrong – like in 2016.

The PUNCH gathered that Biden’s national lead over the Republican president has been relatively steady in recent months.

The International News says Biden is ahead 51 per cent to 43 per cent in the latest poll taken October 27 to 29.

“But Trump is still close to Biden in enough state battlegrounds to give him the 270 state Electoral College votes needed to win a second term,” it reported.

Reuters/Ipsos polls show that the race remains a toss-up in Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona.

CNN poll also puts Biden ahead of Trump in battlegrounds.

“Polls show Trump leading in only two battleground states,” it said on its website

It noted that “recent polls from battleground states in the 2020 election show that former Vice President Biden has a lead over President Trump.”

However, Trump has threatened legal challenges to prevent ballots from being counted after election day.

According to reports, more than 91 million Americans have already posted their votes, with some states receiving more early votes than their state’s entire 2016 tally.

Trump was reported to have reiterated his claims that postal ballots are not secure and that Democrats would try to steal the election.

Fears of tensions on election night and afterward were further stoked by a report that Trump could declare victory prematurely.

The Axios news site reported Sunday that Trump has told confidants he would declare victory Tuesday night if it looks like he’s ahead.

Trump called it a “false report” but repeated his argument that “I don’t think it’s fair that we have to wait for a long period of time after the election.”

He has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots are open to fraud, warning of “bedlam” if no clear winner emerges quickly.

“I think it’s a terrible thing when people or states are allowed to tabulate ballots for a long period of time after the election is over, because it can only lead to one thing,” Mr Trump said, criticising decisions by the Supreme Court to allow ballots to be received after election day in several battleground states. 

“As soon as the election is over – we’re going in with our lawyers,” he said, mentioning the state of Pennsylvania specifically.

Asked about the report, Biden was quoted as saying,  “The president is not going to steal this election.”

By Sodiq Oyeleke