The U.S. Postal Service is set to unveil a new computer system built under tight deadlines, which may threaten the mail voting process used by a significant portion of voters. This information comes from a whistleblower statement released on Tuesday by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
This initiative aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting mail voting, a move temporarily blocked by a federal judge. The administration is appealing the ruling, and the matter may reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The whistleblower alleges that the Postal Service has been hastily developing a complex system, which typically requires over a year, in just three months. This rapid development, at times defying court orders, aims to have the system operational for the upcoming midterm elections.
According to the whistleblower, a single scanning error in a batch of thousands of ballot envelopes could prevent them from reaching voters. Election officials have already warned that the system cannot be implemented before North Carolina begins sending out mail ballots this Friday.
“The Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans,” Blumenthal stated before releasing the whistleblower’s information. “This administration seems hell-bent on changing the framework on casting ballots in this country clearly for political reasons.”
Executive Order Sparks Legal Battles With Midterms Approaching
Trump’s executive order, signed in March, requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to develop state citizenship lists. The Postal Service must then ensure that mail ballots are sent only to voters on these lists. New rules also mandate that ballots include barcodes.
The online portal, central to the whistleblower’s complaint, is intended for states to submit verified voter lists to the Postal Service.
The White House described the software development as “neither complex nor unique” for the Postal Service, noting its existing use of bulk mailing and barcodes. “Under President Trump, the federal government is working to ensure safe, transparent, and honest elections,” said spokeswoman Lauren Bis.
Despite using mail voting himself, Trump has long opposed voting by mail. He falsely attributed his 2020 election loss to mail voting, despite a Brookings Institution report indicating mail voting fraud is extremely rare.
Since returning to office, Trump has advocated for Republicans to oversee vote counting in Democratic regions and pushed for a reinvestigation of the 2020 election, despite substantial evidence that he lost fairly to Democrat Joe Biden.
Mail voting was once used equally by both parties but has recently become more common among Democrats. In 2024, over 29% of voters cast their ballots by mail.
Following Trump’s executive order, legal challenges from Democrats and civil rights groups led to U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani temporarily halting its implementation. However, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overruled this decision, allowing the order to proceed temporarily.
On August 21, the Postal Service released a final rule on how it would implement the order. States must gain approval for envelope designs and submit voter lists through the not-yet-active portal. This prompted another lawsuit and a 14-day restraining order from Judge Talwani.
Whistleblower Highlights Rushed Development of Portal
According to Blumenthal and a summary of the whistleblower’s statements, the Postal Service began portal development on June 15, halting on June 25 after Talwani’s initial order, then resuming on July 29 upon appealing to the Supreme Court. The high court did not lift Talwani’s injunction until August 24.
Talwani found that the Postal Service violated her order by continuing work on the final rule but imposed no sanctions. She later allowed work on the portal to continue, provided states were not compelled to use it.
Whistleblower Aid stated that the rushed portal development, aimed at being operational by Tuesday, lacked comprehensive testing. “The apparently sloppy and rushed manner in which the Federal Ballot Mail Portal and supporting IT systems are being built poses significant risk,” the group wrote. “Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all.”
The statement also revealed a “zero percent” error tolerance rule for mail ballots, potentially discarding entire batches due to single errors. Ballots, handled in-person by election officials, would undergo multiple checks, with any error risking rejection.
Blumenthal expressed hope and faith in the justice system to overturn what he called an “unconstitutional and unconscionable rule.” However, he advised against mail voting if the rule is enforced for the midterms.
