WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday in its push to sideline thousands of disputed California mail ballots the day before the pivotal midterm elections. The emergency appeal came after an appeals court rejected the request to set aside some 20,000 ballots from people the federal government suspects may not be citizens. The federal government says those ballots should not be counted until the voters’ status can be verified. California officials say the list is highly unreliable and likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens. The Republican Trump administration has prioritized identifying noncitizen voters this year, despite them being rare. A district court judge forcefully denied the Justice Department's request and warned that the demand could disenfranchise citizens in the Nov. 3 midterm elections to determine control of Congress. The Justice Department asked the high court for a “limited injunction” that would direct California to “stop commingling suspected illegal ballots with legal ones” while the case contin