Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has delivered a thinly veiled message to the Trump Administration, warning that any attempt to subvert the presidential election could threaten Labor's support for the US-Australia alliance.
Democrats fear that President Donald Trump might prematurely declare himself the winner and use legal challenges in battleground states to stop votes being counted.
Mr Trump has already declared that vote counting after November 3 should not be allowed and promised he will "go in with lawyers" after voting ends.
When he was asked about the likely result, Mr Albanese said it was in the hands of US voters but stressed that "democratic processes should be respected".
"Our partnership with the United States is an alliance between our peoples based on our common democratic values," Mr Albanese said.
"I am concerned by any questioning which occurs of democratic values and democratic processes.
"They are precious, they should not be undermined by any leader."
Mr Albanese also said that the US election result would have "implications for the world when it comes to the vital challenge of tackling climate change" although he again did not specifically refer to Mr Trump.
Politicians and officials throughout Canberra will be watching the contest intently.
The US Ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse Jr, declared this morning that the alliance with Australia would endure no matter what the result of the Presidential election.
"It is clear that the commitment to the alliance with Australia is bipartisan, it is strong, it is enduring, and it will continue regardless of the outcome of the election," Mr Culvahouse said.
He said the prospect of violence after the US election was "concerning" but emphasised that the US had been wracked by political turmoil before.
"I was a young Republican in 1968, the Conventions in '68 were bloody. Mass arrests, there were demonstrations, it caught people by surprise," he said.
"We respect and honour and enshrine freedom of peaceful protest. Hopefully there will not be a tip and go over to violence or unlawful protest."
Mr Culvahouse also emphasised that there was strong bipartisan support for the United States to take a more assertive approach to China, and acknowledged that some Australians were losing faith in the alliance.
"We have paid attention to the polls and our own polling shows that there is not as strong a support for the alliance, particularly among younger Australians, as we would like," Mr Culvahouse said.
"That's on us to do, and we have work to do regardless of who the next President is. So there is important work to do."
