A federal appeals court has delayed California's recall election and opened the way for a possible last-minute US Supreme Court battle echoing the disputed 2000 presidential election.
A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals said obsolete punch-card voting machines still used in six counties, accounting for 44 per cent of California's voters, had an unacceptably high rate of error.
"In assessing the public interest, the balance falls heavily in favor of postponing the election for a few months," the 9th Circuit panel said in a 66-page opinion.
Secretary of State Mr Kevin Shelley, the state's top election official, scheduled a news conference for later today to announce whether he would appeal the case.
He instructed local officials to proceed with election planning as the 9th Circuit delayed implementing its order for seven days to allow appeals to either a full 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit or directly to the US Supreme Court.
Relying heavily on the Supreme Court's 2000 decision in Bushv. Gore, the appeals court judges said the discrepancy between the error rate for punch cards and other systems violated the Constitution's equal protection guarantees and the federal Voting Rights Act.
Democratic Governor Gray Davis said he expected the decision to be appealed and was prepared to go forward with the election "whenever the courts tell me the election will occur."
Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger asked that the case be appealed and said he would continue to campaign.