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Mix-Ansicht- in Florida werden bereits 58.000 Stimmen von Briefwählern vermisst - CRASH_GURU, 28.10.2004, 11:07
in Florida werden bereits 58.000 Stimmen von Briefwählern vermisst
-->Florida ballot papers go missing
The result of the 2000 polls was delayed by a recount in Florida
Tens of thousands of postal ballots in the US state of Florida have not been delivered, sparking fresh concern over irregularities in the poll campaign.
Some 60,000 absentee ballots were despatched by authorities in Broward County, north of Miami, this month.
However, only 2,000 of them have been delivered.
Florida was the centre of controversies which delayed the result in 2000, with George W Bush eventually declared the winner of the state by 537 votes.
It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again Diane Glasser
Florida Democratic Party
Electoral officials have been overwhelmed with calls from anxious would-be voters who are not going to be able to get to the polls next Tuesday and fear that their votes have been stolen.
The missing ballots have fuelled an atmosphere of intense suspicion in Florida, with Democrats already backing nine separate law suits in the state, says the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington.
If the result is close and decides the result in the presidential race - and both of those eventualities are perfectly likely - it seems virtually certain that protracted legal battles would follow, our correspondent says.
'Beyond our control'
A police investigation into the missing ballots has not uncovered any sign of criminal wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the US postal service inspectorate said it was highly unlikely that 58,000 pieces of mail just disappeared.
A spokesman said inspectors were trying to establish whether the ballots were ever delivered to the postal service.
Broward County election official Gisela Salas said the situation was"something beyond our control".
"We really have no idea what's going on," she told the Associated Press.
Lawsuits
Campaigners are working to ensure no one fails to vote because of the missing ballots, which represent almost half of all the absentee ballots requested in the county.
Democratic Party legislators called on the electoral authorities to publish newspaper ads telling people of other options for voting.
They also accused the Republican-dominated state government of dirty tricks.
In 2000, Broward gave Al Gore his biggest margin among Florida counties. He won 67% of the vote there, while losing the state to George W Bush.
"It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again," said Diane Glasser, vice-chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party.
Both the Democrats and Republicans have already begun filing lawsuits in states across America, challenging different aspects of the election process.
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