A whistleblower has alleged that the U.S. Postal Service is constructing a poorly designed computer system to implement President Trump’s executive order restricting mail voting, according to a statement released this week by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. The disclosure contends that the Postal Service has compressed what normally takes over a year of development into approximately three months, resulting in significant technical problems.
The executive order, signed in March, mandated that the Postal Service send mail ballots only to voters appearing on state citizenship verification lists maintained by federal agencies. The system being developed includes new envelope requirements with barcodes and an online portal through which states would submit verified voter lists. According to the whistleblower account, the portal contains critical vulnerabilities that could prevent thousands of ballots from reaching voters if a single scanning error occurs during batch processing. Election officials have already raised concerns that the system cannot be operational before the first mail ballots are scheduled to be distributed.
The Postal Service faces conflicting court orders regarding the system’s implementation. A federal judge initially halted the work, but the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overruled that decision, allowing development to proceed. However, after the Postal Service released final implementation rules, the judge issued a 14-day restraining order against deployment. The administration has appealed this decision.
The Postal Service stated that its work continues on a voluntary basis for states that want to participate and expressed commitment to secure election mail handling. The White House characterized the software development as routine for the agency. However, the Union of Postal Workers and Democratic lawmakers have criticized the effort, with House members calling for an immediate halt to what they described as an illegal scheme. The dispute is expected to reach the Supreme Court again.
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