USPS Builds Ballot-Screening Portal Before Sept. 19 Mailings Despite Court Order
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
USPS Builds Ballot-Screening Portal Before Sept. 19 Mailings Despite Court Order
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 3
Summary
Twenty states are due to start mailing ballots by Sept. 19, yet USPS is still building a portal that would require states to upload voter lists so mailed ballots can be screened before delivery.
The system would scan a sample ballot from batches of up to 10,000 pieces of election mail; if the barcode does not match portal data, USPS could reject and return the entire mailing for correction.
A whistleblower told Congress the project was compressed into weeks instead of the usual eight months to a year, with shifting requirements and inadequate testing that could trigger mis-scans and delays.
North Carolina said it has no current plans to use the portal, Wisconsin called compliance 'virtually impossible,' and the postal workers union said no clerks had been trained despite USPS saying training was needed before the election.
The portal is central to Trump's March order restricting mail voting, which more than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and voting-rights groups are challenging as an unconstitutional federal intrusion into state-run elections.
Will the ongoing legal battle over USPS ballot screening disrupt mail-in voting logistics for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections?
How will the Postal Service protect the massive amounts of voter data required by this federal ballot portal from cyber threats?
Could a single barcode error in the new USPS screening system cause an entire county's election ballots to be rejected?
Federal vs. State Showdown: The 2026 USPS Ballot Portal, Legal Turmoil, and the Future of Mail-In Voting
Overview
In the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, President Trump’s executive order led the USPS to create strict new mail-in ballot rules, requiring states to upload detailed voter data to a rushed, untested federal portal. This system, built in just three months without proper testing, uses a zero-tolerance policy: if a single barcode fails in a sample, thousands of ballots are rejected, risking widespread voter disenfranchisement. Legal battles erupted, with courts blocking mandatory enforcement and most states refusing to comply, while technical failures and operational delays left election officials in chaos just weeks before voting began.