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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.
Mr. 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. But his administration has not put forth evidence of widespread voter fraud, and the president himself has cast ballots in Florida's elections by mail.
As part of its implementation of the president's directive, the Postal Service published a final rule last month laying out its new requirements for mail voting. A federal judge temporarily blocked its enforcement last week, and the Justice Department has appealed that decision.
Currently, six states conduct their elections entirely by mail. There are also four states, plus the District of Columbia, that have not yet eliminated in-person voting but also send ballots to all of their voters. In a CBS News poll in March, 77% of Democrats said anyone should be allowed to vote by mail, while just 25% of Republicans also felt that way. Independents were split, with 49% backing mail voting by anyone.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/whistleblower-warns-postal-services-mail-100011684.html
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.
Mr. 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. But his administration has not put forth evidence of widespread voter fraud, and the president himself has cast ballots in Florida's elections by mail.
As part of its implementation of the president's directive, the Postal Service published a final rule last month laying out its new requirements for mail voting. A federal judge temporarily blocked its enforcement last week, and the Justice Department has appealed that decision.
Currently, six states conduct their elections entirely by mail. There are also four states, plus the District of Columbia, that have not yet eliminated in-person voting but also send ballots to all of their voters. In a CBS News poll in March, 77% of Democrats said anyone should be allowed to vote by mail, while just 25% of Republicans also felt that way. Independents were split, with 49% backing mail voting by anyone.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/whistleblower-warns-postal-services-mail-100011684.html
