A whistleblower report released by Senator Richard Blumenthal’s office Tuesday alleges that the US Postal Service resumed work on a system tied to President Trump’s mail-voting restrictions after court orders blocked the underlying executive order.
The report says the agency restarted development of the “USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal” on or around 29 July. The system is intended to receive lists from states of voters who intend to vote by mail.
The alleged resumption came over a month after Talwani issued her first block against Trump’s March 2026 executive order. USPS leaders had publicly stated, and said in letters to members of Congress, that the agency was not moving forward with the rule because of Talwani’s injunction and a separate court order involving the NAACP.
According to the whistleblower, USPS work to implement the mail-voting restrictions began in earnest in June. The agency initially stopped creating the online portal in response to Talwani’s ruling, the report says, before suddenly resuming work in late July.
The USPS has since formally adopted a rule requiring states to alter the envelopes used to send mail ballots to voters. The rule also requires states to provide the federal government with a list of all voters who intend to vote by mail.
USPS would refuse to deliver ballots to people in states that do not comply with those demands. The report argues that development of the portal continued internally while agency leaders maintained that the court orders had halted work on the rule.
The report does not establish whether the work described violated the court orders or fell within their limits. It also does not identify the full nature and extent of USPS work between June and the reported resumption on or around 29 July.
It remains unclear whether courts will permit the rule or the portal to be implemented, and what effect the system would have on election operations if it proceeds.
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