Whistleblower warns Postal Service's new mail ballot system has "potentially catastrophic problems"

Key Points:

• An anonymous whistleblower, described as a federal official, has raised alarms about the U.S. Postal Service's new mail ballot handling system, warning it could cause "potentially catastrophic problems" and disenfranchise millions of voters ahead of the November midterm elections.
• The whistleblower alleges that the Postal Service continues to implement President Trump's executive order on mail voting despite court rulings blocking its enforcement, including developing an untested online portal to track mail ballots that may cause significant delays and ballot rejections.
• Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal criticized the Postal Service's actions as rushed and potentially unlawful, urging the agency to halt implementation to protect voters' rights, while the Postal Service has not commented on the allegations.
• The new system requires state election officials to submit voter information and unique barcodes for mail ballots to a federal portal, with a zero-tolerance policy for scanning errors that could reject entire batches of ballots, raising concerns about voter disenfranchisement and operational feasibility.
• The Supreme Court allowed the Postal Service to proceed with some aspects of the mail ballot system but emphasized that its legality remains uncertain, as states prepare to begin mailing ballots in the coming weeks amid ongoing legal and operational challenges.