Fed Court Blocks California Recall Proceedings

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- A federal appeals court Monday ordered California officials to halt preparations for the October 7 gubernatorial recall election, citing concerns about a "hurried, constitutionally infirm" process.

Voters had been scheduled to go to the polls October 7 to decide whether to remove California Gov. Gray Davis.

But the ruling from a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals leaves the election in doubt -- at least for now. The court stayed its order for seven days to allow an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ruling follows a hearing last week at which the American Civil Liberties Union argued that election officials should have more time to replace antiquated voting machines in several California counties.

A lower court last month had rejected the request.

The ACLU brought suit, saying the punch-card system could disenfranchise voters in six counties, including Los Angeles, the state's largest. Those six counties include 44 percent of state voters and have heavy concentrations of minority voters.

Holding the recall vote as scheduled would mean those voters would be forced to use voting machines the secretary of state's office has declared unfit, the court found.

"The inherent defects in the system are such that approximately 40,000 voters who travel to the polls and cast their ballot will not have their vote counted at all," the three-judge panel concluded.

If Monday's ruling stands, the recall vote could be moved to March 2004, when it would share space on the ballot with California's presidential primary.

"In sum, in assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the court concluded, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's Bush v. Gore decision that settled the 2000 presidential election.

The 9th Circuit has a reputation as being one of the most liberal appellate courts in the federal judiciary, and its decisions are often reversed by the Supreme Court.

Davis had asked state courts to delay the recall vote until March, when a strong Democratic turnout is expected for the state's presidential primary.

"We don't think the recall is a good idea," Davis spokesman Peter Ragone said. "We think it's going to cost the taxpayer $70 million. But we also respect the people of California to have the election, and if they're going top have the election, they should all be able to vote."

There was no immediate reaction from actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the leading Republican candidate to replace Davis should the recall succeed; from Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, the leading Democratic recall candidate; or from Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, who is trailing both Schwarzenegger and Bustamante in recent polls.

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