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  Sunday  October 10  2004    12: 56 PM

voting

Rivals dig in for legal war over US poll
Parties recruit armies of lawyers amid fears of fraud


The Republican and Democratic parties are massing armies of lawyers to fight for every vote in case next month's US election becomes a repeat of the 2000 debacle in Florida.

The court cases have already started more than three weeks before polling day. The Democrats have taken Florida's Republican secretary of state, Glenda Hood, to court twice this week, accusing her of putting up obstacles to first-time voters.

One issue at stake is a tiny box on the Florida registration form which the potential voter is supposed to tick to confirm that he or she is a US citizen. Democrats say the box is redundant as the voter is also required to sign a statement stating US citizenship. But Ms Hood has told election officials to reject forms on which the box is not ticked.

She was also taken to court yesterday for restricting provisional voting - in which the voter's registration has to be confirmed after the ballot - to the elector's home district.

These are the opening skirmishes in what is likely to be a fierce and prolonged legal battle that will rumble on until the election on November and beyond if the results are close.

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