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Recall vote should go ahead, court rules

California businessman Patrick Stroupe pastes pro-recall signs on his car as he awaits the arrival on Tuesday of Governor Gray Davis at a firefighters station in Santa Anna. PHOTO:AFP

A US appeals court on Tuesday ruled that California's recall vote should take place as originally scheduled on Oct. 7, ending one emotional and unpredictable fight and leaving politicians just two weeks to finish up their own emotional and unpredictable battle.

An 11-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco unanimously overturned a decision by three of its judges last week to postpone the recall vote until March 2004, when computer technology is scheduled to replace antiquated punch card voting machines.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the group that brought the suit to delay the election, said it would not appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court because "with the election just two weeks away, we do not believe we should prolong the uncertainty any longer."

The 9th Circuit noted the great disruption a postponement would have at such a late date. State election officials said 669,067 voters had already cast absentee ballots as of Tuesday and the state had spent about US$50 million organizing the contest.

"Interference with impending elections is extraordinary ... and interference with an election after voting has begun is unprecedented," the court ruled.

"The decision to enjoin an impending election is so serious that the Supreme Court has allowed elections to go forward even in the face of an undisputed constitutional violation."

Democratic Governor Gray Davis, 60, is fighting to keep his job after three decades in California politics. "I think they made the right decision," he said.

Nipping at his heals is bodybuilder-turned-actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is hoping to transfer popular discontent with politics to complete his third major career change.

"It is time for the legal wrangling to end. It is time for this election to go forward," he said in a statement.

The 9th circuit's unanimous decision brought together eight judges appointed by Democratic presidents and three by Republicans. The three-judge panel that last week ordered a delay was made up of three Democratic-appointed judges.

In upholding the original trial court decision, the 9th Circuit said US District Judge Stephen Wilson did not abuse his discretion in concluding that the interests of Californians were best served by allowing the Oct. 7 election date to stand.

The ACLU had argued during a 70-minute hearing on Monday that as many as 40,000 citizens may see their votes not counted because of errors that could be expected with the older punch card systems and said minority voters would be disproportionately affected.
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