WASHINGTON, Nov 2: A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the Republican Party could place thousands of representatives inside Ohio polling centres to challenge voters' eligibility, The New York Times website reported.

The ruling is seen as a blow to Democrats after two lower court judges on Monday had barred representatives from political parties from appearing at polling places in the battleground midwestern state.

The New York Times said the lawyer for a pair of Cincinnati civil rights activists, who had challenged the Republican plan to probe voters, would appeal the Tuesday appeals court ruling to the United States Supreme Court.

But it appears likely that when polls open in the state, that Republicans will be able to place thousands of challengers inside polling centres across the state.

Ohio, which sends 20 representatives to the Electoral College, is one of the key prizes in Tuesday's presidential election, in which President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are running neck-and-neck.

With local polls showing the race in the state too close to call, both Democratic and Republican parties are trying to maximize their turnout, considering it vital to an overall victory.

Bush carried Ohio in 2000 and has campaigned heavily in the industrial state in an effort to keep it in his column. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning in Ohio.-AFP