The United States Postal Service (USPS) is facing scrutiny over a new initiative connected to President Trump’s push against mail-in voting. Concerns have emerged that untested technology could impact the upcoming midterm elections, according to a recent whistleblower report.
As mail-in voting for the midterms is set to commence, parts of the USPS plan remain temporarily halted by a court order amidst legal challenges to the president’s executive order. Despite this, USPS has been developing an online portal for state election officials to submit necessary voter information, a plan currently overshadowed by claims of inadequate testing.
According to the whistleblower, represented by Whistleblower Aid and disclosed by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, USPS leadership has rushed the project, disregarding best practices. “USPS leadership, it appears, has discarded all best practices as they speed the project to be ready for a September 1 implementation — raising questions about whether catastrophic failure would be a feature rather than a bug,” the disclosure states.
Potential flaws in the online portal could prevent absentee voters from receiving their ballots on time. The whistleblower highlights an unusual “zero-percent failure policy” that might delay ballot processing due to inflexible verification procedures. “As designed, the process is entirely unforgiving. It could delay ballots by the thousands in repeated verification cycles — and thus prevent states from mailing enormous numbers of ballots,” the disclosure elaborates.
USPS has yet to respond to inquiries about the whistleblower’s claims. Meanwhile, Sen. Blumenthal has called on Postmaster General David Steiner to abandon the plan, emphasizing the need for all Americans to vote without USPS interference. He described the situation as “mind-boggling” and suggested the system is “intended to fail.”
President Trump argues that his directives aim to prevent illegal voting by non-citizens, though studies suggest such occurrences are extremely rare. Recently, a Boston federal judge issued a temporary restraining order against USPS, citing a lack of authority over mail-in voting. The Trump administration has appealed this ruling, potentially leading to another Supreme Court confrontation.
As the legal battle continues, more court decisions may emerge, leaving election officials and voters in a state of uncertainty. Observers are closely watching how these developments will affect the integrity and accessibility of the upcoming elections.
Editor’s note: USPS is a financial supporter of NPR.
Edited by Megan Pratz
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
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