Jen Fifield

Exclusive: Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked an executive order restricting voting by mail in ways that could have thrown the upcoming midterms into chaos. But the White House originally had far more disruptive plans, @propublica.org has learned. 🧵

events.propublica.orgProPublica Event: Who Controls the Ballot Box? The Fight for Federal ControlJoin ProPublica to learn how the Trump administration has dismantled guardrails meant to protect the vote and what it all means for the midterm elections.

12h

Come to this! Meet the team.

ProPublica@propublica.org

What does the effort to assert federal control over elections mean for the upcoming midterms? 🗓️ Join us Oct. 27 at 4 pm ET to hear what we’ve learned from our reporting. RSVP:

At an election science conference I went to in June, a panel was lit up by claims that USPS delays in primaries were causing more ballots to arrive late. Someone asked: Has anyone done research yet to see if USPS changes are tied to ballot rejections? So @propublica.org did. 🧵

Postal Service leaders have also been emphasizing that voters should put their ballot in the mail more than a week before their states' deadline.

Election consultants, researchers and former Postal Service officials say they hope the agency’s special measures will limit delays, but some said mistakes were likely. “It isn’t a question of ‘if,’" ballots will be rejected, one said, "but a question of ‘how many.'”

Want to see if your ZIP code is affected by reduced mail service? Use our look up tool: www.propublica.org/article/mail...

Postal Service leaders say such delays are less likely in the Nov. 3 general election because of “extraordinary measures” the agency puts into place for these votes. Ballots meant for local election offices should be expedited and not sent to regional plants.

We found that USPS cuts have caused at least a one-day delivery/postmark delay, most affecting states that allow ballots to count if they come in after Election Day as long as they’re postmarked by that day. Rejection rates increased most in areas that voted for Trump in 2024.

Why are the cuts affecting mostly rural areas? The USPS consolidated mail processing into larger regional plants instead of hubs closer to local post offices. Then, the agency cut the frequency of mail pickups at many of these local offices from twice a day to once.

propublica.orgBallot Rejections Soared in Rural Counties After USPS Reduced Mail ServiceA ProPublica data analysis shows that delays resulting from the agency’s cost-cutting measures have endangered the validity of ballots mailed in rural areas. Counties that voted for Trump in 2024 have...

Out today: U.S. Postal Service’s cost-cutting measures have endangered the validity of ballots cast in rural areas, where late-arriving ballots soared in the primaries. With @kbmorales.bsky.social and @msweetharris.bsky.social: www.propublica.org/article/mail...

Visual representation of the judges that have shut down the Trump administration's demands for confidential voter data. DOJ is 0 - 26, with four pending. Eight of the judges were appointed by Trump. via @peterelkind.bsky.social and @lucaswaldron.bsky.social @propublica.org. 🔗 in thread.

projects.propublica.orgHow Judges Eviscerated Trump’s DOJ Voter Data Lawsuits — ProPublicaOver the past year, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., to demand their unredacted voter rolls. The vast majority of cases have been thrown out.

Scroll through timeline to see how judges - many appointed by Trump - eviscerated Trump's DOJ voter roll lawsuits, even as DOJ's argument for demanding the voter rolls changed over time: projects.propublica.org/trump-doj-vo...

Jen Fifield reposted

Jessica Lussenhop

@jlussenhop.bsky.social

One more day to vote for "Paper Trail" for the Signal Awards... and we could use your help on this category 😏 It only takes a minute! 😘🙏

Jessica Lussenhop@jlussenhop.bsky.social

Best Documentary Podcast: vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting...

vote.signalaward.comThe Signal Listener's Choice Award needs YOUI just voted for this finalist to win a Signal Listener's Choice Award. You should too.

propublica.orgThis White House Plan Threatens Funding That Helps Disabled Americans VoteA new rule from the Office of Management and Budget would prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives. It’s part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restr...

Important story from @lisalsong.bsky.social out today. An idea that the White House Office of Management and Budget has quietly proposed will have far-reaching implications on voter registration drives www.propublica.org/article/disa...

Jen Fifield reposted

Polite Yet Ultimately Malevolent Mailman

@usps.bsky.social

For reference, the average residential route gets somewhere between 0-3 certified letters per day. The generally estimated time added each day per cert is ~2 minutes. At 500ish registered voters per route, this would have added about 16 hours 40 mins per route, or 24 hours 40 mins per day.

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social

According to several people knowledgeable about the discussions, the administration initially floated requiring all mail ballots nationally to be delivered exclusively through certified mail (which would have required voters to be home and sign for delivery of their ballots).

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis denied the administration had interfered improperly with the Postal Service. Bis also rejected the idea that the certified-mail proposal was “unworkable,” saying this played no part in the administration’s decision “to go in another direction.”

A Postal Service spokesperson declined to comment on the agency’s internal deliberations about the EO and said it was the Board of Governors’ policy not to discuss them. He referred ProPublica to an earlier statement by Postmaster General David Steiner: about.usps.com/newsroom/sta...

The Postal Service objected - it would have been impossible to execute. Before the executive order came out, Postal Service officials were cut out of crucial conversations. Instead, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick served in an advisory role, ProPublica learned.

propublica.orgThe Untold Origins of Trump’s Plan to Sharply Restrict Mail-In VotingProPublica’s reporting reveals for the first time the extent of the White House’s role in trying to dictate how mail-in ballots are processed, spurring behind-the-scenes drama that played out for near...

NEW: Trump’s Mail-In Voting Plan Was Originally Far More Extreme, with @peterelkind.bsky.social @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/trum...

@charlesornstein.bsky.social

Jen Fifield reposted

Charles Ornstein

The Trump administration floated an idea that would have virtually shut down mail voting: requiring all ballots to be delivered exclusively through certified mail, ProPublica has learned. by @jenafifield.bsky.social @peterelkind.bsky.social

propublica.orgU.S. Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots During This Year’s Primary Elections, Audit FindsAn inspector general’s audit found a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterm...

10 Sept

As Supreme Court weighs new USPS mail voting rules, new audit finds a lack of training for post office staff, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays. Experts say it raises questions ahead of the midterms. Full story 👇

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social

Exclusive @propublica.org: Some U.S. Postal Service facilities failed to properly handle ballots during primary elections, according to new audit. The findings come as the Supreme Court weighs whether to allow USPS to regulate mail ballots during the Nov election www.propublica.org/article/post...

10 Sept

propublica.orgNew Mail Voting Rules Moved Forward Despite USPS Officials’ Concerns About Mass DisenfranchisementIn internal meetings, officials worried the rules they were drafting could delay or block ballots from reaching large swaths of eligible voters for the upcoming midterms.

10 Sept

Reminder: We are digging into the proposed USPS rule on mail voting and want to know more about Trump's executive order on the matter. Contact our tip line at 917-512-0201 or reach out to me on Signal at jenafifield.01.

Jen Fifield reposted

Matt Novak

@paleofuture.bsky.social

2 Sept

“USPS officials confirmed it was possible that one ballot with a bad barcode or wrong voter information within the more than 2 million ballots could delay the entire mailing, according to two people who attended the related committee meeting.”

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social

Exclusive from @propublica.org, details from inside USPS planning meetings that corroborate the whistleblower report warning of potential for mass disenfranchisement if mail voting regulations move forward for the midterms NEW: www.propublica.org/article/mail...

Jen Fifield reposted

Lisa Song

@lisalsong.bsky.social

2 Sept

THE story to read today:

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social

2 Sept

1/ Just in: An anonymous federal worker has filed a whistleblower disclosure warning that the U.S. Postal Service's attempt to create a system to regulate mail voting for the midterms has been "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed." @propublica.org has the details 👇

10/ The Trump admininistration has argued in court that the plan is legal. Yesterday, federal Judge Indira Talwani denied the government's request to lift the temporary halt on the plan, but said that the USPS portal can move forward for states to upload data on a voluntary basis.

blumenthal.senate.govblumenthal.senate.gov

The full whistleblower disclosure is linked at the end here, with @blumenthal.senate.gov's letter on top: www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

If you have tips about the US Postal Service's effort to regulate mail voting in the midterms, please reach out. You can reach me securely on Signal at jenafifield.01 or contact our tip line at 917-512-0201.

Jen Fifield@jenafifield.bsky.social

8/ The portal for state officials to upload voter lists was supposed to launch today, according to the whistleblower. It's unclear if that will still happen, given the plan to make it mandatory for states is currently blocked.

9/ @blumenthal.senate.gov has asked the Postmaster General for detailed info about the plan. He says the USPS rule puts all mail voters at risk and accuses the administration of being "hellbent on changing the framework of casting ballots in this country, clearly for political reasons."

6/ The whistleblower outlines a few specific concerns: • The rejections of entire batches — thousands of ballots — when a perceived problem with one mail voter is found • No acknowledgment or planning for errors that are sure to happen

7/ The disclosure calls one portion of the internal software being developed unusable "garbage." It adds that internal concerns were brushed off by leadership, who said in response: "We cannot fail."

4/ The whistleblower disclosure, filed with @blumenthal.senate.gov, says workers were forced to create the new system in weeks when it should have taken 9 months. The whistleblower alleges that work continued on implementing the plan, even after it was ordered to be stopped.

5/ The Trump administration "has hidden the high likelihood that the new ballot mail verification processes will result in major disruptions in mail ballots ever getting delivered to voters," according to the disclosure.

2/ For background: Trump issued an executive order in March forcing USPS to create new rules for mail ballots. It required states to give USPS lists of eligible mail voters, which would then determine who gets sent a ballot.

3/ USPS issued the new rule last week, and it is currently blocked by a federal court. But the merits of the rule are expected to come before the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of the election. USPS has been working on a portal that will allow it to move forward.