By Jan Wolfe
Oct 26 (Reuters) - A US appeals court on Monday ruled against President Donald Trump's administration in a major voting dispute ahead of the midterm elections, denying a request to block California from counting mail ballots from people on a list of more than 20,000 registered voters the federal government alleges are likely noncitizens.
The decision by the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals marked the latest setback in Trump's efforts to assert a greater federal role in overseeing elections in the run-up to the November 3 midterms in which his fellow Republicans are fighting to retain control of Congress.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe)