COURT TO CALIFORNIA BALLOT CHALLENGE: NO — APPEALS PANEL REJECTS TRUMP BID AGAIN

In a 2–1 decision, a panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined the Justice Department's request to block the ballots from being counted while its lawsuit against California proceeds.

Judges Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel Sanchez, appointed by President Joe Biden, pointed to a lower court's concerns about the reliability of the federal government's voter list.

The ruling hands the administration its second defeat that week in the California ballot fight.

It leaves California's existing ballot-counting procedures in place days before the November 3 midterms, though it does not end the underlying lawsuit.

The case is one of several election-law battles playing out in the final days before voters decide control of Congress.