'Catastrophic failures': Whistleblower warns about USPS mail-in ballot system

"Zero percent failure rate" could lead to ballot rejections, whistleblower said.

An anonymous government employee whistleblower has come forward to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, warning that a "rushed, chaotic and fundamentally flawed" effort by the U.S. Postal Service to implement President Donald Trump's mail-in ballot executive order risks a "catastrophic failure" of the election system that could "derail the midterm elections."

The whistleblower's concerns were made public in a report released by Blumenthal, who said in a release Tuesday morning that the allegations show that the system USPS is creating to track mail-in balloting is "set up to fail -- and risk the right to vote for millions of Americans who cast their ballots by mail."

The whistleblower is described in the report as someone with direct knowledge of potentially "catastrophic problems" in the development of the USPS' new electronic federal mail ballot portal.

Under the new proposed system, states would be required to report basic voter information, such as a voter's name and home address, attached to a unique barcode on every mail-in ballot distributed. Postal workers would then only deliver ballots addressed to voters who appear on the state-provided list.

The new USPS system, published formally last week, was temporarily put on hold by a federal judge as she considers whether it is likely unlawful and should be blocked during an ongoing legal battle. It's unclear what parts, if any, will be allowed to take effect in time for the November election.

The USPS rules fall short of Trump's expectations in his executive order.

The first mail-in ballots go out to overseas military voters from North Carolina this Friday. Given the length of the legal battle ahead, it's unlikely Trump's proposed changes to mail-in voting will be implemented in time for the midterm elections.

Voter advocates and civil liberties groups worry the rules could prevent some legitimate, eligible voters from receiving ballots. They fear an added bureaucratic layer -- such as having to submit lists to a federal portal to be administered by USPS -- unduly introduces the risk of errors not to mention the potential for federal meddling.

The whistleblower report also alleges that officials may have defied a prior court-ordered pause, continuing work on the USPS system despite a judge's instructions.

Blumenthal wrote a letter to Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner on Monday demanding further answers to questions related to allegation raised by the whistleblower and to urge him to "abandon this ill-conceived, unconscionable plan and ensure that all Americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote, including by mail, without interference by USPS."

ABC News reached out to USPS and the White House for comment on Blumenthal's letter, but did not immediately receive a response.

'Slapdash' assembly of new portal could lead to major issues in November

The whistleblower described a "secretive, rushed, chaotic and fundamentally flawed process" creating and implementing an "untested" federal ballot mail portal that USPS will use to screen ballots.

The rushed effort to create the portal could cause "significant operating" problems and the failure to verify ballots this November, the whistleblower said. It could also mean, the report alleges, that "potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner or at all."

The report details a "slapdash" production process for the new IT software, which the whistleblower alleges hasn't been sufficiently tested or debugged. At the time of report, the whistleblower said there was insufficient time to test the system before a Sept. 1 deadline to deliver it.

"According to the whistleblower, USPS’s effort to develop and deploy the Portal has been 'rushed,' 'risky and haphazard' because leadership has demanded a impossible timeframe. In an effort to meet impossible deadlines, USPS has eliminated standard and needed testing, thereby creating substantial risk of a 'catastrophic failure' of the system that could 'derail the midterm elections,'" Blumenthal wrote in his letter to Steiner.

Blumenthal also raised concerns about a new so-called "zero percent failure rate" which, according to the whistleblower, could see whole batches of ballots being rejected if a barcode on even one ballot fails to scan.

"Voters intending to cast ballots by mail may not even be aware that their ballots have been rejected, or were part of a rejected batch, until it is too late to secure an alternative ballot or vote in person," Blumenthal wrote.

Whistleblower alleges that work on USPS portal potentially violated court orders

The whistleblower also alleges that -- after a one-month pause on work that began in June -- employees were told to continue working on the mail-in-ballot portal in July despite an active temporary restraining order from a federal judge ordering a pause on work related to Trump's mail-in-ballot executive order.

"The project was suddenly resumed without explanation of what authority permitted USPS to ignore the court order," according to the whistleblower report.

The USPS is currently under a 14-day Temporary Restraining Order issued by Judge Indira Talwani prohibiting it from implementing its new rules for mail ballots ahead of the November election. The judge is hearing arguments on Thursday as to whether to extend the TRO to a preliminary injunction during litigation.

The same judge has already accused the administration of flouting a previous order that had blocked any finalization of the rules while she was considering the matter.

"Based on this timeline, USPS should have ceased all work on the Portal on June 25, 2026, with the earliest conceivable date to resume being August 26, 2026. The whistleblower allegations demonstrate that was not the case, with USPS directing work to continue on the Portal after the first court order to cease work and prior to the recent court decisions allowing USPS to proceed," Blumenthal wrote to Steiner.

For most voters, nothing is likely to change how they cast ballots by mail in the midterm elections. But the longer the court hold remains in place -- and the longer the court fight takes -- the less likely it is that any of the rules will practically impact November.

Still, the battle over these rules and any additional ones Trump may seek to impose will continue well into 2028, where the effects could most significantly be felt.

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola