USPS whistleblower flags 'catastrophic' risks in new federal ballot portal
An anonymous postal official warns that a rushed federal system for verifying mail-in ballots could reject entire batches over single errors, threatening the November midterms.
A new federal ballot-processing system ordered by President Donald Trump faces fresh scrutiny after an anonymous US Postal Service whistleblower warned that technical flaws could disrupt mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections. The disclosure, released by Senator Richard Blumenthal, describes the project as "secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed," citing insufficient testing that poses a risk of "catastrophic failure."
Under the proposed framework, state election authorities are required to upload voter lists and identifying barcodes to a federal portal. Postal workers then verify samples from large batches of outgoing ballots against this data before accepting them for delivery. The whistleblower alleges the agency has adopted a "zero-percent failure policy," meaning an entire batch of 10,000 ballots could be rejected if a single sampled barcode fails to scan or match the federal system.
The official, represented by the nonprofit Whistleblower Aid, stated that the system was built under constantly changing requirements and received only a fraction of the testing normally required for major information technology projects. "Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all," the whistleblower said, noting that approximately one-third of American voters cast ballots by mail.
USPS denied defying court orders in a statement to AFP, asserting that the portal is currently voluntary and that no mandatory verification procedures are being used. The agency stated that work on the ballot portal had been lawful and consistent with court orders, aiming to ensure Americans can have confidence that their election mail is handled securely.
Senator Blumenthal, the senior Democrat on a Senate investigations panel, urged Postmaster General David Steiner to abandon the plan, arguing that USPS lacks the technical or operational capability to implement the provisions effectively. He accused the administration of designing a system to "disenfranchise millions," despite the president having voted by mail multiple times himself.
The dispute follows a federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocking key parts of the plan last week, finding the agency likely lacked authority to regulate who may receive a mail ballot. The judge allowed USPS to continue work on the voluntary portal while the wider legal battle continues, leaving election officials with little time to adjust as the first states prepare to send mail ballots this week.
