Q&A: California vote delay

A federal court has delayed a ballot on the future of the California governor Gray Davis. BBC News Online explains why the vote was put on hold and what that means for the people of California.

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Why is California having an early election?

California is in economic crisis, with a $38bn deficit that effectively makes it bankrupt. This was caused in part by the slump in fortunes of the Silicon Valley and hi-tech industries following the good times of the mid-90s.

Many people blame current governor Gray Davis for failing to handle the crisis better.

More than one million Californians signed a petition in the summer calling for a "recall ballot" - effectively forcing Mr Davis to face a re-election less than a year after he narrowly won a second term in office.

Why did the court decide to halt the election?

Civil rights groups were concerned about the use of the punch-card voting machines, similar to those in Florida that sparked mayhem during the presidential election three years ago.

The antiquated system involves voters knocking out a small rectangle next to their choice of candidate, but if they are not punched properly the automatic machines cannot read them.

The Ninth Circuit Federal Appeals Court in California - one of the most liberal in the country - agreed that the system was error-prone and could distort the vote.

Wasn't that ballot system supposed to have been eliminated?

Yes, six counties in California are already under a separate court order to replace the ageing voting system with more reliable machines in time for the presidential primary in March next year.

However, the machines will not be in place - in the counties of Los Angeles, Mendocino, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara and Solano - before the recall vote on 7 October.

The three federal court judges did not set a new date for the ballot, but said it should be delayed until the new systems are up and running.

Why is this election important?

California has the world's sixth largest economy and - with a population of roughly 45 million people - is the most populous US state.

The Golden State as it is known, is home to Hollywood and Silicon Valley and holds the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives.

The Democrats need to hold on to the state governorship to stand any chance in the presidential elections, and the Republicans hand will be strengthened if they can seize the post.

What happens next?

The implementation of the court ruling has been delayed by a week to allow time for an appeal.

Governor Gray Davis - who it is thought will benefit from the delay - said he expected the case to go to a higher court.

However, he and the other 130 candidates say they are continuing their campaigns at full throttle.

Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, the Californian official responsible for elections, has told county officials to continue preparing for the 7 October vote.

He says he will announce on Tuesday if he will ask for the ruling to be reviewed by a bigger panel of judges on the appeals court, or appeal to the Supreme Court.