After Supreme Court ruling, Postal Service stops work on computer system aimed to limit voting by mail, tell me about this news in (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/17/postal-service-mail-voting-computer-system/)

Following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Postal Service suspended work on a controversial computer system and online portal designed to impose new federal restrictions on mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections.

Background and the Proposed System

The project originated from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump aimed at restricting mail-in voting. Under the directive, federal agenciesincluding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administrationwere tasked with compiling eligibility and citizenship lists.

To execute the policy, the Postal Service began developing an IT system and portal (the Federal Ballot Mail Portal). Under the proposed rules:

• States and local election offices would have been required to submit pre-approved lists of registered voters receiving mail ballots through the portal.

• Ballot envelopes required specific standardized designs and barcode tracking approved by the Postal Service.

• Ballots that did not strictly match the federal database or envelope specifications would not be processed or delivered by mail carriers.

Whistleblower Concerns and State Lawsuits

The initiative drew intense pushback from election administrators, voting rights organizations, and a coalition of 25 state attorneys general, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Concerns escalated following a whistleblower complaint made public by lawmakers. The disclosure revealed that USPS was rushing to build a complex, untested system in roughly three monthsa process that normally takes a year or more. The whistleblower and election experts warned that technical glitches, combined with a rigid “zero percent” error tolerance policy during postal scanning, could have resulted in tens of thousands of legitimate ballots being delayed or discarded entirely.

Critics also pointed out that under the U.S. Constitution, states hold the authority to run elections, and most states lacked the time, infrastructure, or central registries needed to comply weeks before voting began.

The Supreme Court Ruling and Aftermath

The Supreme Court issued an order refusing to allow the administration to enforce the rules for the upcoming election, upholding lower court injunctions. The justices noted that the federal government was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its legal arguments and cited the imminent proximity of the election, which made sudden procedural overhauls disruptive.

With the high court declining to greenlight the initiative, the Postal Service halted development of the portal and ceased efforts to enforce the proposed verification checks. Consequently, mail-in ballots for the upcoming elections will continue to be processed and delivered under standard, established state procedures.