US midterm sprint: court blocks ballot move, Trump offers fraud reward

· Politics · United States

A US appeals court rejected the Trump administration's request to force California to segregate mail-in ballots from a list of 20,000 people federal officials suspect are likely non-citizens, saying a lower-court judge should hear the dispute first, days before the November 3 midterms. President Trump separately offered $1 million to anyone whose voter-fraud report leads to an arrest and conviction, without saying how it would be funded. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Trump's approval at 32%, up from a record low, with voters favoring Democrats 47% to 36%. In a separate legal case, a judge ruled the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, and ordered her reinstated; the department also charged James Comey with sharing defense secrets.

Why it matters：US courts, prosecutors and campaign rhetoric are colliding just before elections that will decide control of Congress.

Key points

  • The appeals court let a lower judge hear the California ballot dispute first.
  • Trump's $1 million fraud reward has no stated funding mechanism.
  • A judge ordered Maurene Comey reinstated; James Comey faces new charges.

Sources (original reporting)

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