A U.S. Postal Service official has accused the agency of proceeding with a secretive and rushed implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order to exert federal control over mail-in voting, despite a federal court order temporarily blocking those plans. The official’s whistleblower report, released Tuesday by Senator Richard Blumenthal’s office, warns that the agency’s hasty efforts could produce a “catastrophic failure” in the mail ballot system ahead of the midterm elections later this year.
The report states that the Postal Service intended to complete a new digital system for managing mail ballots by September 1. The whistleblower, working with the nonprofit group Whistleblower Aid, expressed concern that millions of voters might not receive their mail-in ballots on time or at all. The official highlighted risks that the system’s verification process could mistakenly reject tens of thousands of ballots if a single barcode in a batch fails to scan properly. The rushed development of the system, described as “slapdash,” is said to heighten the chances of errors and operational failures.
Senator Blumenthal characterized the situation as a deliberate design to disenfranchise millions of Americans, noting that approximately one-third of voters cast ballots by mail. “The U.S.P.S. puts all of their votes at risk,” he said during a phone briefing.
The controversy stems from President Trump’s repeated efforts to restrict mail-in voting, which he has criticized as vulnerable to widespread fraud, despite having voted by mail himself in two elections this year. His administration has pursued various measures, both procedural and legislative, to limit mail voting access. These moves have triggered a wave of legal disputes at a critical juncture, just two months ahead of the midterm elections.
States such as Michigan and California, where substantial portions of the electorate rely on mail ballots, are likely to be particularly affected. Michigan saw 37 percent of votes cast by mail in 2022 and hosts several competitive congressional and statewide races, while California mails ballots to all registered voters and remains a key battleground for control of the House of Representatives.
The Supreme Court initially allowed the Trump administration to advance with the mail ballot executive order, ruling a lawsuit against it was premature because the plan had not yet been executed. However, after the Postal Service publicly released a formal plan to comply with the order, a federal district judge in Massachusetts, Indira Talwani, issued a temporary injunction. Judge Talwani found the plan likely exceeded the agency’s legal authority and warned it could cause widespread confusion by altering election procedures just months before voting.
According to the whistleblower report, the Postal Service continued work on the new digital ballot system despite the district court’s halt order and ongoing appeals. The official’s disclosure sheds light on internal concerns that the rushed timeline and opaque process could severely undermine the reliability of mail voting during one of the nation’s most consequential election cycles. The Postal Service declined to comment on the matter.