SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court Monday halted the California gubernatorial recall election, ruling the punch-card ballots still in use in some counties are unfair.
The stunning order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals postpones the Oct. 7 vote until an undetermined later date, possibly as late as March.
Political analysts expect the ruling to benefit Gov. Gray Davis. They assume voter anger at the governor will cool in the coming months and carefully timed campaigns by his challengers will run out of money and momentum.
Civil rights attorneys had argued that the punch-cards were outmoded and it was unfair to have voters in some counties use them while other counties had more updated voting machines that would presumably provide a more accurate count.
