THE US: A judge asked his Federal Appeals Court colleagues yesterday to reconsider a controversial decision by a three-judge panel of the court to postpone the October 7th California recall election.
The request prompted 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to ask for briefs this afternoon on whether an "en banc" 11-judge group should reassess Monday's ruling by a panel of three judges that delayed the vote on whether to recall Governor Gray Davis until next March.
"The parties . . . shall file simultaneous briefs, not to exceed 15 pages or 7,000 words, setting forth their views on whether or not this case should be heard en banc," the court said.
The three-judge panel delayed the unprecedented October recall vote against Mr Davis, a Democrat, saying punch card voting machines still used in six California counties had an unacceptably high rate of error.
Three-judge panels typically decide issues for the court, but on rare occasion a majority of judges will ask for an en banc hearing following an appeal from one of the parties or from a 9th Circuit judge, as was the case yesterday, a court clerk said.
Voters continued to cast early absentee ballots and candidates, including Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, kept on campaigning even though the election date remained uncertain.
"There are clearly some legal issues that are of concern and they have to be resolved," Lieut Gov Cruz Bustamante, the leading Democratic replacement candidate, told reporters. "The place that they are going to be resolved is not in some political arena, they are going to resolved in the courts."
California Secretary of State Mr Kevin Shelley, the state's top election official and a Democrat, was scheduled to announce whether he will appeal the decision and, if so, in what court.
Mr Shelley, who is widely expected to lodge an appeal, can either ask for a 9th Circuit en banc panel or go directly to the Supreme Court.
A pro-recall group said it would ask the Supreme Court to delay the implementation of the appeals court decision - a move which in effect would allow the October 7th vote to occur.
Meanwhile, Mr Schwarzenegger has tried to clear up allegations used against him in the campaign regarding his younger years.
As a bodybuilder and actor, Mr Schwarzenegger has a record of 30 years of statements, in his own writing and in interviews, about women and sexuality.
Now, as a candidate for governor of California, his own words have returned as an issue in the campaign. Political rivals have seized on some statements to call Mr Schwarzenegger a sexist, misogynist and worse.
His friends and aides say such quotes were exaggerated for effect, out of character or out of date.
In a move that campaign strategists hoped would improve his standing with women, Mr Schwarzenegger appeared on Monday with his wife, Maria Shriver, on the season premiere of Oprah Winfrey's television programme, which has an 86 per cent female audience.
Female voters could be crucial to Schwarzenegger's ability to win the race to replace Mr Davis if Davis is recalled.
Currently, Mr Schwarzenegger and Mr Bustamante, are in a tight race in several polls.
But Mr Schwarzenegger trails Mr Bustamante by nine points among women in the most recent Los Angeles Times poll, 35 per cent to 26 per cent.
Some of the weakness in his female support may be linked to Schwarzenegger's own words.
A man who made his name with his body, Schwarzenegger has talked about his sexuality and relations with women publicly for nearly three decades, leaving behind a record of public statements like those of few American political figures. - (Reuters, Los Angeles Times)