President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden fought Monday through the eve of an election threatened by legal chaos and fears of violence after Trump, down in the polls and with only hours to go, pushed hard to discredit the US voting process.

On Tuesday, the world will witness a country more divided and angry than at any time since the Vietnam War era of the 1970s.

In a sign of how volatile the election could be, buildings in several cities were boarded up, including along several blocks around the White House and in New York City including the iconic Macy's flagship.

Tuesday is formally Election Day but in reality it marks only the culmination of a drawn-out election month. With a huge expansion in mail-in voting to safeguard against the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 95 million people are estimated to have already cast ballots, highlighting the raw passion in what is turning into a referendum on the norm-shattering Republican's first term.

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Header image: Supporters of President Donald Trump scream at supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden queueing in their cars before attending a campaign event with Democratic US vice presidential nominee Sen Kamala Harris on the eve of the general election in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. — AFP