California awaits election ruling

Governor Davis is fighting for his political life

Supporters and opponents of a controversial legal ruling which has halted a vote on the future of Californian Governor Gray Davis are awaiting a decision on whether the court will re-hear the case.

A three-judge panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week that the vote - scheduled for 7 October - could not go ahead.

The judges agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that the use of outdated punch-card voting machines in some predominantly black and Hispanic districts would risk disenfranchising thousands of people.

But on Wednesday, the full court made the rare move of saying it might be willing to reconsider the ruling, and gave interested parties 24 hours to make submissions.

State election officials have urged that the case be heard by an 11-judge review board, while the ACLU says such a move is unnecessary.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of more than 130 candidates

Critics of Governor Davis, a Democrat whose economic record has been in the spotlight, triggered the election by collecting enough signatures from voters.

Republicans are keen to gain control of the powerful state ahead of next year's presidential election.

The "recall election" would see voters given a choice of deciding whether or not Mr Davis should remain in office - and selecting his successor if he is removed.

A host of candidates have lined up to contest the election, including Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

'Constitutional crisis'

In his submission to the court, California's Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley, said delaying the vote would lead to a "constitutional crisis".

Permitting this flawed special election to go forward in the interests of speed and claimed financial hardship would set an ominous stage ACLU submission

The California constitution required that a recall vote be taken no longer than 80 days after enough signatures of registered voters had been collected, he said.

Mr Shelley added that tens of millions of dollars had already been spent on sending out two million absentee ballots and other vote-related material to voters.

In their submissions, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties - which still use punch-card ballots - told the court they could carry out a fair election and urged the judges to allow it to proceed.

The American Civil Liberties Union argued it was not necessary for the court to hold a review.

"Permitting this flawed special election to go forward in the interests of speed and claimed financial hardship, though it is known beforehand that 40,000 votes will be discarded by virtue of geography and race, would set an ominous stage," the group said in its submission.