Hackers broke into the web site of the Ohio secretary of state, which has also received death threats and strange packages amid an ongoing court battle with Republicans. 

Brunner (CNN)

The site is back on line, but officials took it out of service on October 20 when unknown outsiders broke into the site, according to CNN. 

"We found it in time that we were able to mitigate any problems," said Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who said no sensitive material was breached. She said there have been an ongoing series of problems as Ohio, a must-win state for McCain, becomes the center of heated competition between the candidates. The GOP is challenging state procedures in court. 

"There's been a concerted effort to barrage the office with e-mails and phone calls, not just to our elections division but to business services division. My employees have been real troopers here," she told the news network. 

"The First Amendment is alive and well in the United States, and you know that, and they're not coming just from Ohio," Brunner said. "A lot of times, they're coming from other states. But this is all part of the process. And my employees are doing a fantastic job of staying focused on what they need to do." 

Brunner said the Ohio Highway Patrol is investigating the hack, the calls and e-mails, as well as a suspicious package with a message that said "Death to Obama supporters" and an unidentified powder. That package, addressed to an old office building, was delivered by her office by mail last week, she said.