Whistleblower warns Postal Service's mail ballot portal is "rushed," "untested"

Reported by CBS News. The paragraphs below are the opening of that article, reproduced word for word — not a summary, and not the whole piece.

Washington — A whistleblower is warning of "potentially catastrophic problems" with the U.S. Postal Service's new system for handling mail ballots. The whistleblower is accusing the agency of flouting court rulings by continuing to work on implementing a Trump executive order to tighten mail voting rules before the November midterm elections.

Described by lawyers as a federal official, the anonymous whistleblower revealed the information about the Postal Service's mail-voting procedures in a disclosure provided to Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut that was made public Tuesday. In response, Blumenthal is now questioning Postmaster General David Steiner about the Postal Service's development of a new online portal to house information about voters and their mail ballots.

"The main takeaway for me is that the Postal Service has designed a system to disenfranchise millions of Americans," Blumenthal told reporters. "One third of all Americans cast their ballots by mail, and the USPS puts all of their votes at risk."

The Postal Service did not immediately return a request for comment.

President Trump has sought to exert more federal control over U.S. elections ahead of the November midterms, including through his executive order imposing new restrictions on mail ballots. The president has also pushed Congress to approve a package of voting regulations that would outlaw mail voting — with some exceptions — and impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements to register to vote.

As Mr. Trump signed his executive order in March, he claimed that "the cheating on mail-in voting is legendary," and said new mail voting rules were needed to ensure the integrity of federal elections.