Postal Service work to comply with Trump's executive order is rushed, sloppy, whistleblower contends

4:21 PM ETDeveloping

Politics Desk

Executive order is subject to furious court action with midterms nearing Trump’s executive order, signed in March, directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security Administration to develop state citizenship lists and then required the Postal Service to send mail ballots only to voters who are on such a list.

On Monday, she issued a ruling refusing to lift the restraining order that also said the Postal Service could continue work on its portal, as long as it wasn't forcing states to use it. Talwani last week found the Postal Service violated her order by continuing to work on the final rule, but she imposed no sanctions on the government.

The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting relied upon by one-third of all voters, according to a whistleblower statement released Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

On the night of Aug. 21, the Postal Service released a final rule outlining how it would implement the order. After Trump issued his executive order, Democrats and civil rights groups sued and eventually won a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston barring implementation of the system before the November midterms.

But without ruling on the legality of Trump's order, the Supreme Court's conservative majority last week found that was premature and overruled Talwani, momentarily clearing the way for its implementation. That rule gave plaintiffs a chance to sue again, and Talwani on Thursday night issued a 14-day restraining order against implementation of the measure.

That was when the administration appealed the judge's order to the Supreme Court.

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The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting relied upon by one-third of all voters, according to a whistleblower…
Executive order is subject to furious court action with midterms nearing Trump’s executive order, signed in March, directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the commissioner of the Social Security…
After Trump issued his executive order, Democrats and civil rights groups sued and eventually won a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston barring implementation of the system before the…
But without ruling on the legality of Trump's order, the Supreme Court's conservative majority last week found that was premature and overruled Talwani, momentarily clearing the way for its implementation.
On the night of Aug. 21, the Postal Service released a final rule outlining how it would implement the order.
That rule gave plaintiffs a chance to sue again, and Talwani on Thursday night issued a 14-day restraining order against implementation of the measure.
That was when the administration appealed the judge's order to the Supreme Court.
Talwani last week found the Postal Service violated her order by continuing to work on the final rule, but she imposed no sanctions on the government.

Sources

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