Whistleblower alleges USPS mail-ballot verification system is flawed and untested

An anonymous federal employee filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that the U.S. Postal Service's newly created system for verifying mail ballots is untested and prone to failure. The complaint, submitted to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, says the agency began serious development in June, leaving less than three months to finish a platform that typically requires nine to twelve months.

The system was prompted by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in March, which directed the Postal Service to transmit ballots only to individuals on a federal list of citizens—a practice the agency has never performed. A federal judge has blocked the order while its constitutionality is litigated.

According to the complaint, the verification portal would reject an entire batch of ballots if a single barcode failed to scan, potentially halting delivery of thousands of votes. The whistleblower also claimed that staff were ordered to continue work despite court injunctions.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who received the complaint, said the administration appears intent on altering the ballot-casting framework for political reasons and called the effort unconstitutional.

"It is unconstitutional, as is argued in the courts by the litigation that is ongoing, but this disclosure indicates that it is also blatantly incompetent and incapable of actually delivering ballots that are lawful in this midterm election," Blumenthal said.

The White House rejected the allegations, stating that building software for the verification check is not a novel task for the Postal Service, which routinely uses bulk-mailing and intelligent-mail barcodes for large customers.

"The process of building software to carry out this new verification check is neither complex nor unique for USPS since the Postal Service regularly uses bulk mailing and intelligent mail barcodes for a wide variety of large customers," White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said.

The Postal Service has not responded to requests for comment.