A U.S. Postal Service whistleblower is warning that a system developed to carry out President Donald Trump’s mail voting rule could delay thousands of ballots ahead of the November midterms, including a shipment of 10,000 ballots if just one fails verification.
The anonymous federal official, represented by Whistleblower Aid, alleges USPS rushed development of its new Federal Ballot Mail Portal and related technology without adequate testing. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut released the disclosure Tuesday.
The system was developed in response to a March executive order from Trump directing USPS to impose new requirements on mail ballots used in federal elections. The Postal Service later issued a rule requiring election officials to meet new envelope standards, use unique barcodes and upload information about ballot recipients to the federal portal before ballots are accepted for delivery.
Key portions of the rule are currently blocked in federal court. The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to allow the requirements to take effect before the November election.
The whistleblower claims the technology has not undergone the level of testing normally expected for a project of its size. Work began in earnest around June with officials seeking a Sept. 1 launch, according to the disclosure, although the official said comparable projects can take nine months to a year or longer.
Under the system described in the disclosure, USPS...
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