SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
Election workers extract mail-in ballots at the registrar of voters’ office during the California primary election in San Diego, California, U.S., June 2, 2026. – Mike Blake, REUTERS
A whistleblower is alleging the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to implement President Donald Trump’s order exerting federal control of mail ballots risks “catastrophic problems” because of major flaws, and has moved forward despite a court order blocking it.
The whistleblower, a federal official with direct knowledge of the plan, describes a “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed process” in the report, which was prepared by the group Whistleblower Aid and sent to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut.
“The Whistleblower also raises grave concerns that the administration has hidden the high likelihood that the new ballot mail verification processes will result in major disruptions in mail ballots ever getting delivered to voters,” the report states.
Trump issued an executive order in March directing the Department of Homeland Security to develop lists of eligible voters in each state and requiring the U.S. Postal Service to only deliver ballots to voters on the approved lists. The president often has made unfounded claims about widespread problems with mail voting, despite casting his own ballot by mail.
Trump’s order escalated his bid to place new restrictions on voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress is at stake. It was condemned by Democrats and voting rights groups, who said it interferes with state election administration and makes it harder for people to vote, and quickly challenged in court by Democrat-led states.
A federal judge in Boston blocked the order on June 25. The Postal Service moved ahead with the plan anyway, the whistleblower complaint states.
“Just a few weeks later, on or around July 29, 2026, the project was suddenly resumed without explanation of what authority permitted USPS to ignore the court order,” according to the complaint.
The Supreme Court ruled on Aug. 24 that the states’ legal challenge was premature because a final Postal Service mail ballot plan hadn’t been issued, and lifted the lower court order blocking the effort. The Postal Service finalized the mail ballot rule on Aug. 26. It was quickly challenged in court, with a judge again temporarily preventing it from moving ahead while considering a long-term block.
The Postal Service’s new mail ballot system could result in a major election disruption if allowed to proceed, the whistleblower complaint states, calling it “insufficiently tested” and “poorly planned.” The complaint raises concerns that the technology developed to implement Trump’s order will “crash” ballot processing.
“Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,” the complaint states, while “warning of catastrophic failure which could derail the midterm elections.”
Blumenthal said in a letter to the Postal Service that the agency should scrap the effort.
“We urge you to abandon this ill-conceived, unconscionable plan and ensure that all Americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote, including by mail, without interference,” he wrote.
Courtesy: This article originally appeared on USA TODAY
