The U.S. Postal Service chief said on Thursday that the agency has stopped developing an online portal central to President Donald Trump’s effort to tighten rules on mail voting.
“There’s an injunction so we’re not doing anything,” Postmaster General David Steiner said.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to lift a nationwide injunction blocking a Postal Service rule, leaving it on hold for the 2026 midterms. That decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they’ve used for years.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to Steiner about the online portal on Aug. 31, saying he had received an alarming disclosure from a whistleblower. Blumenthal described it as a “perilously rushed and potentially unlawful implementation” of Trump’s order.
Steiner said he had read portions of Blumenthal’s report, but said he had confidence in those working on the project, and had planned to unveil it this week.
“There’s absolutely no doubt that we worked fast,” he said. “My personal opinion is it was a monumental task and I’m very proud of our IT department for being able to do it that fast.”
Steiner declined to say whether he supported Trump’s policy, adding that he was simply the head of an “independent agency of the executive branch” whose only interest was operational concerns.
“I don’t get to decide what rules that are put on us that I decide to accept or not accept,” Steiner said. “I looked at it more from the execution side.”
The Trump administration had filed an emergency application on Sept. 6, asking the justices to pause an injunction issued on Sept. 4 by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts. Her ruling extended a temporary restraining order she granted on Aug. 27.
The injunction blocked the mandatory parts of the Postal Service’s final rule published on Aug. 26 to implement an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March.
Under the rule, states must supply the agency with lists of mail ballot recipients, and all outbound and return ballot envelopes must bear unique barcodes. The Postal Service may also refuse to deliver ballots that do not comply with the new standards or are associated with voters who do not appear on the lists.
All 50 states allow some form of mail-in voting, with 29 allowing voters to request to cast ballots that way without providing a reason and eight conducting their elections entirely by mail.
In the executive order, Trump wrote that the federal government has a duty to maintain public confidence in election outcomes and that additional measures are needed to enhance election integrity through U.S. mail.
“Secure ballot envelope identifiers provide a reliable, auditable mechanism to enforce Federal law without unduly burdening or infringing on the rights of eligible voters,” the president stated in the order.
“Unique ballot envelope identifiers, such as bar codes, enable confirmation that only citizens receive and cast ballots, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting the integrity of Federal elections.”
Though the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s executive order for this year’s election, Justice Brett Kavanaugh indicated he might rule in favor of the administration if the issue comes back before the court at a later time.
Matthew Vadum, Naveen Athrappully, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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