"Pentagon Restricts Overseas Voters"

PARIS - Americans abroad, whose votes could be crucial if the Nov. 2 presidential election proves close, are being denied access to a U.S. Department of Defense Web site designed to make it easier for them to cast absentee ballots.

The problem concerns blocks placed on access to the Web site of the Federal Voting Assistance Program, a Defense Department division to help expatriate American voters, including servicemen and women. The site's address is www.fvap.gov.

In an e-mail, a site Web manager, Susan Leader, said access is being refused to some Internet service providers that were used by hackers to attack U.S. government sites.

"There has been a marked increase in Web attacks on government computers, more as we get closer to the election. As a result, many Internet service providers have been blocked from accessing our site," Leader wrote.

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