The Trump Administration’s effort to exert federal control over the administration of elections suffered setbacks on Friday, just days before the Nov. 3 mid-term elections, when federal courts issued rulings against the actions taken or proposed to be taken by the federal government.

A US Court of Appeals in California ruled on Friday that the federal government cannot block California from counting midterm election mail ballots received from more than 20,000 registered voters the Trump administration alleges may not be citizens, as this would risk disenfranchising eligible voters, Reuters reported. In a 2-1 decision denying the Justice Department’s request for an order blocking the most populous US state from counting the votes while the case plays out, a panel of the 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals pointed to a lower court’s finding that the Trump administration’s list may not be fully reliable. “There is a material risk that granting the United States its requested relief would result in disenfranchisement,” wrote US Circuit Judges Mark Bennett, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, and Gabriel Sanchez, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden.