Republicans had chastised the Gore camp for supporting broad standards for voting in Democratic counties, while demanding that absentee votes by military personnel, considered likely to vote Republican, conform to technical standards.

Unofficial tallies by the Associated Press show Bush's lead in Florida standing at 930 votes. Overseas absentee ballots were responsible for the increase in Bush's razor-thin margin. The easing of Democratic opposition to un-postmarked absentee ballots, however, could increase that margin.

With manual recounts still incomplete, the Gore vote has increased by a net total of 96 votes. If approved, this would cut Bush's lead to 834. Recounts are already underway in the large, Democratic-leaning counties, Palm Beach and Broward. Another manual recount may begin in the large Miami-Dade County. If continued without disruption, county officials said they expected the count to conclude Dec. 1.

--Wire reports were used in the writing of this story.