A whistleblower has raised alarms about a "rushed, chaotic and fundamentally flawed" effort by the U.S. Postal Service to implement a new system for tracking mail-in ballots, warning of potential "catastrophic failure" that could impact the upcoming midterm elections. The concerns were detailed in a report released by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
The anonymous employee, described as having direct knowledge of the issues, alleges that the development of USPS's new electronic federal mail ballot portal has been "secretive, rushed, chaotic and fundamentally flawed" and that the system is "untested."
Under the proposed system, states would be required to provide voter information linked to a barcode on each mail-in ballot. Postal workers would then only deliver ballots to voters appearing on a state-provided list. However, the whistleblower claims that the system has not been sufficiently tested or debugged, creating a substantial risk of failure.
Blumenthal stated in a letter to Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner that the allegations indicate the system is "set up to fail -- and risk the right to vote for millions of Americans who cast their ballots by mail." He also expressed concern about a "zero percent failure rate," which, according to the whistleblower, could lead to entire batches of ballots being rejected if a barcode fails to scan. Voters may not be aware their ballots have been rejected until it is too late to obtain an alternative.
Further allegations suggest that work on the portal may have continued in July despite a federal judge's temporary restraining order pausing related efforts. The whistleblower claims the project resumed without clear authorization to ignore the court order.
USPS is currently under a 14-day temporary restraining order prohibiting the implementation of its new mail ballot rules ahead of the November elections. A federal judge is considering whether to extend this order to a preliminary injunction during ongoing litigation. The same judge has previously accused the administration of not adhering to a prior order that blocked the finalization of rules while the matter was under consideration.
Voter advocates and civil liberties groups have voiced worries that the proposed rules could create bureaucratic hurdles, increase the risk of errors, and potentially allow for federal interference, potentially preventing eligible voters from receiving their ballots on time or at all.
Given the legal challenges and the timeline, it remains uncertain what aspects of the new USPS system, if any, will be in effect for the November elections. The first mail-in ballots for overseas military voters are scheduled to be sent out this Friday. The longer the legal battles persist, the less likely the new rules will significantly impact this election cycle, though potential effects could be felt in future elections.