Florida Governor Jeb Bush has defended polling preparations

Democrat Kerry arrived in Florida on Sunday, where his running mate John Edwards attacked the Republican party for trying to keep people from voting.

President Bush heads to Florida on Monday to target undecided voters.

Editorials in major US newspapers have announced which of the two men they support in the neck-and-neck contest.

The candidate's time is so precious now we are absolutely looking for key states where we can gain ground Kerry campaign spokeswoman

The New York Times and The Boston Globe have urged their readers to vote for Mr Kerry, while The Chicago Tribune and Dallas Morning News endorsed President Bush.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Kerry told a largely African-American church congregation in Ohio, another key state, that President Bush's plans to change the welfare funding system would hit the poorest hardest.

"For all the professions of faith and how strong we are, we've got a lot more loving of our neighbour to do in the United States of America," he said.

Campaigning in Florida on Saturday before taking a brief break in Washington, President Bush said his opponent was not principled enough to defend the US against the terror threat.

'Precious time'

With less than three weeks left for campaigning, both camps are encouraging the Florida electorate to use an early-voting system to cast their ballots.

Several US newspapers have endorsed John Kerry's bid for office

The system, which is in use in many US states, enables people to vote 15 days before the nationwide election - a move which enables the campaigns to concentrate on undecided voters.

"We want to say to people get out and early vote," a Kerry campaign spokeswoman said.

"The candidate's time is so precious now we are absolutely looking for key states where we can gain ground."

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says the presidency will likeliest go to the candidate who can persuade the biggest number of his newly-won supporters to vote - but no one knows who that will be yet.

Voting controversy

Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the president's brother, has hit back at critics who have accused the state's administration of using dirty tricks to deprive people of their votes.

"We have done everything we can to make sure people have access to register to vote and that we've made it easy for people to vote," he said.

Mr Edwards earlier told a rally in Florida the Republicans would not succeed in barring people from voting.

"You know, whether they're using a felons' list that's full of problems to try to keep people from voting, or whether they're trying to say someone didn't check a box on a form... whatever it is, we know that they will be up to their old tricks, right," he said.

President Bush's narrow 2000 US election victory hinged on a handful of votes cast in Florida.

Accusations emerged afterwards that the state's recount was mishandled and electoral malpractices had stopped potential Democratic voters from casting their ballots.