USPS halts development of voter-list system after Supreme Court blocks Trump order
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The U.S. Postal Service announced it has stopped work on a computer system tied to a former president's executive order to limit mail voting, citing a court injunction and focusing on its core mail-delivery mission.
The U.S. Postal Service said Thursday it has ceased development of a controversial computer platform that was intended to support a presidential executive order aimed at restricting mail voting. Postmaster General David Steiner told the Associated Press that an injunction prevents any further work on the project.
Steiner, who has led the agency through a series of financial and political challenges, declined to comment on the merits of the former president’s policy, emphasizing the Postal Service’s role as an independent executive-branch 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 operated by the Postal Service, which would then have mailed ballots only to voters cleared by the system. A whistleblower report released earlier this month described the system as hastily built and error-prone. Steiner acknowledged reading portions of the report and noted the technical challenges, adding, "> 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."
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the order, a memo to Postal Service employees stated that the agency will not enforce the new rules in the upcoming election and will continue standard mail-delivery procedures. Steiner reiterated the Postal Service’s encouragement of barcode-enabled envelopes, noting that using barcodes would lower processing costs for customers.
The agency also warned that ballot postmarks have been delayed in some states, urging voters to mail their ballots early, preferably at least seven days before Election Day.