Biden breaks record with most votes won by any presidential candidate in US history

• Democratic nominee Joe Biden has smashed election records, earning more votes than any presidential candidate in US history.
• The former vice president has amassed about 70.8 million votes as of 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
• Former President Barack Obama had held the record since 2008, when he received 69,456,897 votes.
• President Donald Trump is trailing Biden about by about 3 million votes.

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday broke the record for the most votes won by any presidential nominee in US history.

By 2:30 p.m. ET, Biden had amassed 70.8 million votes, according to election results compiled by Decision Desk HQ. Biden has surpassed Barack Obama's record in 2008, when he received 69,456,897 votes.

Biden's tally marks half the votes counted in the race so far, ahead of Trump's 48%. The numbers are expected only to grow as ballots are still being counted in critical states — including Michigan and Arizona.

The results of the presidential election remain unknown because neither candidate has reached the 270 electoral votes needed for a victory.

Pollsters predicted that Biden would secure more votes than Trump. The Democratic nominee is on track to win the popular vote since he already leads the president by about 3 million votes.

This could be the second time Trump loses the popular vote. The first was when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton overtook him by nearly 3 million votes.

As of Wednesday, Trump has picked up about 68 million votes, beating his 2016 haul, when he got 62,980,160 votes.