Whistleblower's lawyer warns USPS plan for Trump's order could keep ballots from voters

Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics USPS mail ballot plan could hurt voters, whistleblower lawyer warns A lawyer for an anonymous whistleblower says Postal Service plans for an unusual verification rule, combined with a hastily built online system, could delay mail ballots from reaching eligible voters. National Whistleblower's lawyer warns USPS plan for Trump's order could keep ballots from voters September 2, 20264:43 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition By Steve Inskeep , Majd Al-Waheidi Delivery vans are parked outside the main United States Postal Service headquarters in northeast Denver on July 28. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption Elections USPS 'carefully reviewing' whistleblower claim on plan for Trump's mail in voting order The U.S. Postal Service has been building a new system to carry out President Trump's push to restrict mail-in voting, including an online portal for states to submit voter information before ballots go into the mail. An anonymous federal official says the system was rushed and could keep ballots from reaching eligible voters on time. As part of the ongoing legal fight over Trump's mail voting order, a federal judge has temporarily blocked USPS from requiring states to use the portal in order to send out their mail-in ballots for the midterm election. The Postal Service is appealing that ruling. David Kligerman, the official's lawyer at Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit that provides legal support to whistleblowers, said the USPS process would place several new requirements between states and voters. States would submit voter information for batches of ballots, which USPS would then sample and verify. "You've got a 0% failure rate, which, by the way, is unprecedented. No other part of the mail system has this," Kligerman told Morning Edition. A single problem in a sample of ballots, from a smudged barcode to a scanner that fails to read one, could send the whole batch back to the state, Kligerman said. Elections Trump appeals a ruling that blocks parts of his order to restrict voting by mail The whistleblower alleges the IT system was built in a matter of weeks, has not been adequately tested and has crashed during testing. The whistleblower says the IT system's rushed development creates a central concern: The technology could flag a mistake even when the ballots themselves are correct, sending states through the process again and potentially delaying ballots from reaching voters. In a statement, USPS said it is "carefully reviewing" the whistleblower's concerns. The administration says the requirements are meant to verify who is receiving mail ballots. Lawsuits challenging the plan argue that USPS has no authority to perform that role. Kligerman questioned the process on practical grounds, too. "This is a solution that does not meet the problem," he said. "If you want to verify to whom it's sent to, there's a very different way to do it than this." Listen to the full interview by clicking the blue button above. Hansi Lo Wang contributed reporting. Editor's note: USPS is a financial supporter of NPR. Sept. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor