JOE Biden might be on the cusp of moving into the White House but divisions remain that American expats, and international policy experts fear could last for generations.
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How the 2020 US election is viewed in the history of the world is to be written, but Deakin University's senior lecturer in politics and policy Dr Zim Nwokora says no matter who wins, this election will probably go down as a lost opportunity to make lasting reform of a tired democracy.
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"My expectation is America will continue to bubble between hope and dysfunction," Dr Nwokora said.
"I think there is clearly a mandate for institutional change, but it's not strong enough due to the political obstacles that are in place.
"The notion of American democracy collapsing is extremely unlikely. What we've seen over the past four years, we'll get a different version of that with Biden in the White House, but the disagreements, dysfunction and inequality won't go away."
Ballarat's Robert Kienbaum III, who was brought up in Alaska but is registered to vote, along with his wife Donna, in California, said he had watched on in dismay at the collapse of the American democracy.
"I was hoping for a landslide victory, but I'm surprised and dismayed at how close it turned out, we were very disappointed," Mr Kienbaum, the registered Democrat.
"As the day has gone on, I'm living with a bit more hope now."
"There's nothing Trump can do, no mater how much he throws tantrums, he's fighting the constitution. I'm pretty hopeful that the country will begin to heal, particularly with its allies around the world.
"I'm worried the transition is going to be very chaotic and potentially inflammatory, knowing Trump he won't go quietly."
Dr Nwokora said there was a clear opportunity for the American people to vote a landslide which was now gone.
"I think yesterday and today has been a moment of huge potential," he said.
"That potential was a scenario where the public repudiates Trumpism and delivers large majorities to reform the social and institutions. That didn't happen even though there was a time when the polls suggested it might.
"If the country continues along the track of division and struggle with its identity, then that continuation will, I think, in history show this is when it could have changed and it could have taken a different course.
"It's not a straight case of red versus blue, America is too tightly intertwined and extricating blue and red is impossible."
As of Thursday afternoon, Joe Biden was leading the count with 264 electoral college votes to Donald Trump's 214. Biden needs six votes, which could call come from Nevada - which he leads - if it is declared for the Democratic party, to take the White House.
President Trump has launched a string of legal challenges in swing states arguing that votes were cast illegally.
Luke Mansillo, a PhD candidate and a lecturer in the in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney, said the US election has highlighted the rules of the elections, the importance of electoral integrity, and that polling - no matter its quality - can be undermined when votes are not tallied.
"While Biden is most likely to win the presidency, the Trump campaign is firing off spurious legal cases that are tantamount to a Tweet with a court filing fee," Mr Mansillo said.
"The US Postal Service missed the court-ordered deadline for unsent mail ballots, potentially disenfranchising more than 300,000 voters, mostly from Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
"Manipulating of the mail among other displays of poor election integrity go some way to explain the gap between the public opinion polls and the election results so far."
Mr Kienbaum said he had seen a gradual decline in the US democracy since the Ronald Reagan era of the 1980s.
"I genuinely am worried for democracy. We've seen a gradual disintegration of genuine democracy, what we have now is an illusion of democracy," he said.
"We have an electoral college, where an individual vote isn't as prized as important as the electoral vote, but that won't change any time soon.
"In order for American politics to change, it's going to take much more foreign influence.
"China and Russia, they never really supported Trump, their entire purpose was to undermine American democracy, get enough disillusionment to say 'what's the point of voting? Then work on the infiltration."