USPS rushes to build mail-ballot portal amid court battles over Trump executive order
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A whistleblower alleges the Postal Service is hastily developing an online portal to process mail-in ballots under a presidential order, raising concerns about system errors and legal challenges.
The U.S. Postal Service is accelerating development of an online portal intended to receive state voter lists and manage mail-in ballots, a process described by a whistleblower as being built in three months instead of the year-plus timeline normally required. The effort follows President Donald Trump’s March executive order that would limit mail voting to voters on lists compiled by federal agencies and require new barcode-enabled envelopes.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who released the whistleblower’s statement, said the rushed construction could lead to “significant risk” of ballot-processing errors and warned that a single scanning mistake might cause an entire batch of tens of thousands of envelopes to be rejected. The portal is slated for use in the upcoming midterm elections, despite a federal judge’s injunction halting the program, which the administration is appealing.
The Postal Service has not commented on the allegations, and the White House described the voting provisions as “commonsense measures” aimed at preventing fraud. Legal challenges continue: a district court judge issued a restraining order against the rule, while the Supreme Court’s conservative majority recently allowed the administration to proceed pending further review.
According to Whistleblower Aid, the portal’s rapid rollout meant it did not undergo full testing, and a “zero percent” rule could discard all ballots in a batch if any error is detected during multiple verification steps. Blumenthal expressed confidence that the courts would block the rule, adding that he would not recommend voting by mail if the system were implemented for the midterms.