US appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside California ballots

■ Steady

Appeals court again rejects Trump bid to set aside 20,000 California ballots

On Friday the 9th Circuit Court rejected a petition to remove 20,000 ballots from California's vote count, calling it unconstitutional. More than 43 million ballots have been cast in early voting for the midterms, with turnout appearing to outpace previous elections in some battleground counties. Earlier in the week came a hacking attempt at the Federal Election Commission and a data leak on Department of Homeland Security staff.

• The 9th Circuit called the petition to remove 20,000 California ballots unconstitutional.
• Early voting has surged, helped by Hispanic voters, with more than 43 million ballots cast.
• An FEC email said a 'bad actor' tried to breach its systems on Wednesday, days before the midterms.
• Distributed Denial of Secrets said it released data on more than 40,000 DHS employees, the third such government disclosure in a month; DHS did not immediately comment.