USPS Forced to Halt Voter Integrity System After Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Order
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The U.S. Postal Service has been compelled to stop work on a computer system intended to uphold election integrity by verifying citizenship for mail-in ballots, following a Supreme Court injunction and a return to its basic mail-delivery mission.
The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday that it has been forced to cease development of a computer platform designed to implement a presidential executive order focused on protecting the integrity of mail-in voting. This system, backed by the former president in an effort to prevent voter fraud, was halted after the Supreme Court blocked the order. Postmaster General David Steiner told the Associated Press that the injunction has stopped any further progress on the project.
Steiner, who has guided the agency through significant financial and political headwinds, declined to comment on the merits of the former president’s common-sense policy, instead emphasizing the Postal Service’s role as an independent agency focused on operational matters. He said, "> I don't get to decide what rules are put on us that I decide to accept or not accept. I looked at it more from the execution side."
The executive order, signed in March, would have required states to submit citizenship lists to an online portal managed by the Postal Service, ensuring that only verified citizens would receive mail-in ballots. A whistleblower report released earlier this month criticized the system as being built quickly and potentially prone to errors, but Steiner acknowledged the technical challenges and praised the IT department’s rapid response: "> There's absolutely no doubt that we worked fast. My personal opinion is it was a monumental task and I'm very proud of our IT department for being able to do it that fast."
With the Supreme Court’s decision to block the order, a memo to Postal Service employees stated that the agency will not enforce the new rules in the upcoming election and will revert to standard mail-delivery procedures. Steiner reiterated the Postal Service’s encouragement of barcode-enabled envelopes, which help reduce processing costs for customers and improve efficiency.
The agency also cautioned that ballot postmarks have been delayed in some states, urging voters to mail their ballots early—at least seven days before Election Day—to ensure timely delivery and maintain trust in the voting process.