It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again

Florida ballot papers go missing

The result of the 2000 polls was delayed by a recount in Florida

Tens of thousands of postal ballots have gone missing in the state of Florida, sparking fresh fears of irregularities in the US poll campaign.

Authorities are investigating the apparent loss of 58,000 absentee forms in Broward County while officials have said replacements are being sent out.

Controversy over the vote in Florida in 2000 delayed the national result.

With five days until the poll, the presidential candidates are focusing their campaigns in crucial states.

It looks like they're trying to steal the vote again Diane Glasser Florida Democratic Party

The accepted wisdom is that whoever wins two out of the three states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida will win the election, the BBC's Rob Watson in Washington says.

The latest opinion polls suggest that the race in all three is still fairly close, our correspondent adds.