Whistleblower says USPS system Trump ordered for mail ballots is flawed and untested

Key Points:

• An anonymous federal official filed a whistleblower complaint warning that the U.S. Postal Service's new technical system for mail voting is flawed, untested, and likely to cause major disruptions in the upcoming midterm elections if implemented.
• The system was developed in a rushed and chaotic process, with less than three months to build what usually takes nine to twelve months, raising concerns about its reliability and potential to reject large batches of mail ballots due to minor barcode errors.
• The complaint highlights that the USPS’s expanded role in verifying voters, directed by a March executive order from President Trump, is unprecedented and controversial, with ongoing court challenges blocking the order’s implementation.
• Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the administration’s efforts as politically motivated and unconstitutional, while the White House defended the system as routine and not complex, and the USPS has not publicly responded to the allegations.
• The whistleblower also reported that USPS workers feared the system would crash and that development continued despite court orders blocking the project, signaling potential risks to the integrity and efficiency of mail voting this fall.