Battleground states are still being counted and the US election remains too close to call.

US President Donald Trump has already flagged involving the Supreme Court in the decision, while Democratic opponent Joe Biden says he is on track for victory.

The pair are fighting for the last electoral college votes up for grabs with each eyeing the necessary 270 to win the election.

The 538 electors of the electoral college are the Americans who will elect the president. So what do we know about them?

In 48 of the 50 states, as well as Washington DC, whoever wins that state's popular vote choses the state's electors typically party insiders who will vote for their candidate.

So this year, the Republicans will choose the electors to represent Texas, while the Democrats will select the electors for California.

But in Nebraska and Maine, both candidates can be awarded electoral college votes owing to special laws there.

Each states' electors will cast their votes on December 14. The votes will then be counted by Congress on January 6.

This is a process overseen by Vice-President Mike Pence in his role as Senate president.

The President-elect will then begin their term on January 20.

With several key states going down to the wire, the Trump campaign is signalling it will dispute results that don't go their way.

Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia are all in doubt.

The so-called "blue wall" of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania are the ones being watched very closely.

Mr Trump has already said he believed he won the election and said he would involve the Supreme Court to contest a negative result.

There could be a situation where both Mr Trump and Mr Biden claim victory in several of these states.

In this case, both parties could try to send their electors to the electoral college.

In this scenario, it is theoretically possible for a state's governor and legislature each representing a different political party to submit two different election results.

This has happened once in US history.

There were duelling electors in three states following the 1876 election.

Follow the twists and turns as Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in the race for the White House.

That dispute was resolved after Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became president in exchange for withdrawing US troops left over from the Civil War from Southern states.

The risk of this happening again is heightened in the battleground states of Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have Democratic governors and Republican-controlled legislatures.

In the lead up to the election, experts said the President could press Republican-controlled legislatures to appoint electors favourable to him, claiming the initial vote count reflected the true outcome.

Governors in those same states could end up backing a separate slate of electors pledged to Mr Biden if the final count showed the Democratic candidate had won.

If this happens, both sets of electors would meet and vote on December 14 and the competing results would be sent to Congress.

But, states have until December 8, known as the "safe harbor" deadline under federal law, to resolve any disputes over their vote totals and certify the winner of the election.

If a state fails to finalise its vote count by then, Congress is no longer required to accept its results under the electoral college system.

Both houses of Congress the House of Representatives and the Senate could both choose to accept the same group of electors.

That would settle the matter.

The chambers could also split, which is more likely if the Republicans retain control of the Senate and Democrats hold onto their House majority.

If politicians cannot agree on a set of electors, the country will find itself in uncharted territory.

Interpreting the Electoral Count Act would be needed to decide who wins.

Described by some academics as "unintelligible," it seems to favour the slate of electors certified by the state's governor, according to Ned Foley, a professor at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

However, Mr Foley told Reuters that some scholars and an analysis by the Congressional Research Service have rejected that conclusion.

Academics have sketched out several scenarios.

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Under one, Mr Pence as president of the Senate could throw out both sets of a state's electors.

Another contemplates that the House of Representatives would end up choosing between Mr Biden and Mr Trump.

There is even a scenario in which the Speaker of the House, currently Democrat Nancy Pelosi, could become acting president.

It could require the Supreme Court to interpret the act, but that is not a guarantee.

Jessica Levinson, director of Loyola Law School's Public Service Institute, told Reuters if this scenario plays out the court could decided to not be the institution which decides the election.

"I could see a court saying this would really be better left up to Congress," she said.

Another scenario which could cause chaos is if their are "faithless" or rogue electors.

These are electors who go against the candidate who won their state.

It is uncommon, but it has happened recently.

Out of 23,507 elector votes cast in 58 presidential elections, just 90 have gone rogue, according to political activist group FairVote.

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In 2016, 10 electors from six states went rogue, eight defecting from former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and two from Republican Donald Trump.

These faithless electors cast their vote for Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, activist Faith Spotted Eagle and three Republicans John Kasich, Colin Powell and Ron Paul.

Only once, in 1796, has an elector cast their vote for the opponent of their pledged candidate.

Most states have laws against electors being "faithless", however, these are typically fines or voiding an elector's vote.

There are 16 states with a combined 191 electoral college votes who do not have laws binding electors.

This includes the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The greatest risk arises where one rogue vote could determine the presidency.

If no candidate has the requisite 270 electoral votes, the winner would be decided by the newly elected House of Representatives when the US Congress meets to count the electoral votes on January 6.

Securing the Senate majority will be vital for the winner of the presidency.

Currently, Republicans appear poised to retain control at a 53-47 seat Senate majority.

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Who are US electoral college voters and what could happen if state results are disputed? - ABC News