With votes still being counted across half a dozen states, democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has broken the record for the most votes ever received, in a US presidential election.

He beat the record, which was previously held by Barack Obama, in the 2008 election, with 694 98516 votes, when he defeated the late republican senator John McCain.

Biden broke Obama’s record around at 1:30 p.m. today and has since surpassed the 70 million vote threshold.

But the record breaking is no guarantee of victory.

The winner of the US presidential race is decided not by the popular vote, rather by the electoral college vote.

As it now stands, Biden has 253 electoral votes, having been declared the winner in Wisconsin and Michigan, a short while ago.

His challenger, Donald Trump has 213 electoral votes.

270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidential election.

With the nation on edge, the final result may not be known for days.

The Trump team is mounting legal challenges to the election in several battleground states, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

But Joe Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon has expressed confidence that victory is within reach.

Meantime, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani is alleging massive voter fraud in some states, including Pennsylvania.

Speaking at a rally this afternoon, he said the republicans have won the election and that several major lawsuits will be filed.