As the heated presidential campaign enters its final days, unprecedented concern surrounds the fairness of the voting process. Indeed, four years after a vote-counting scandal in Florida had to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court - and four decades after passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act - civil-rights advocates say the votes of many Americans are still at risk. Republicans charge that Democrats are padding registration lists; Democrats say Republicans are trying to intimidate African-Americans and suppress the votes of Hispanics, former felons and other likely Democratic voters to keep them away from the polls. Voting experts worry that new electronic voting machines purchased by funds from the 2002 Help America Vote Act are susceptible to tampering and do not allow for an accurate recount if the election - once again - is contested. Meanwhile, both parties are dispatching thousands of poll watchers and lawyers to pounce on any voting irregularities, especially in the too-close-to-call "battleground" states.

Mary H. Cooper specializes in environmental, energy and defense issues. Before joining CQ Researcher as a staff writer in 1983, she was a reporter and Washington correspondent for the Rome daily newspaper l'Unita. She is the author of The Business of Drugs (CQ Press, 1990). She also is a contract translator-interpreter for the U.S. State Department. Cooper graduated from Hollins College in English.