r/politics • u/usatoday ✔ USA TODAY • 5h ago
No Paywall Whistleblower warns Trump mail ballot plan could be 'catastrophic'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/09/01/donald-trump-postal-service-mail-ballots-whistleblower/91559060007/•
u/Myriachan 5h ago
Isn’t that the point?
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u/Sad_Pomegranate1351 4h ago
The point is to prevent only dems from voting trumps own mail in vote will go through of course
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u/plum01kiss 5h ago
messing with the mail ballot process this close to an election and potentially causing ballots to never even reach voters is insane
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u/1LizardWizard 5h ago
It isn’t insane. It’s a deliberately calculated move because the Republican Party is a fascist movement that is anti-democracy.
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u/SparkyMuffin Michigan 5h ago
Not just insane, it's treason. It's another one of Trump's attempts to subvert our elections, just like in 2020.
And probably 2024 but I'll get called crazy for thinking something was wrong
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u/Purple-Principle-805 5h ago
Subversion and treason aren’t the same.
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u/-LsDmThC- 2h ago
Subverting elections is treasonous in a democracy. Hope this helps.
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u/Purple-Principle-805 1h ago
That's not what treason means.
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u/-LsDmThC- 1h ago
“The offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance, or of betraying the state into the hands of a foreign power; disloyalty; treachery”
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u/Purple-Principle-805 1h ago
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort." U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 3. The federal treason statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2381, mirrors the Constitution’s language.
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u/-LsDmThC- 1h ago
Im not sure why you are so caught up on the semantics but 18 USC Ch. 115 covers both treason and subversion and includes overthrow of the government (or just advocating/intent) such as election manipulation.
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=%2Fprelim%40title18%2Fpart1%2Fchapter115&edition=prelim
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u/Purple-Principle-805 1h ago
Words have definitions, especially when the context is legal. The Constitution defines treason for us. That the statute in question also discusses other crimes does not change its adherence to the constitutional language. I agree that what Trump is doing with election interference is subversion, but not that it is treason.
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u/Formal_Cookie_9484 1h ago
You're proving the point that the constitution needs to be revised or completely rewritten. Or do you mean to suggest we only use the constitution's definition and not textbook definition.
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u/Purple-Principle-805 1h ago
If an American is to be accused of treason, then that crime is defined solely by the Constitution. If you want to use some other definition, OK, but you certainly aren't taking a legalistic approach.
I would love to see Trump impeached and convicted of subversion some day, but I can guarantee you if he's accused of treason then the constitutional definition will be mentioned in his defense given the facts as now are publicly known.
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u/SparkyMuffin Michigan 5h ago
Fair.
Subversion for more treason then. Because that mfer has been selling us out every chance he gets.
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u/anduril_tfotw 1h ago
It is the point of the eo. They want to break elections. Is anyone surprised by this?
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u/usatoday ✔ USA TODAY 5h ago
From USA TODAY:
A whistleblower is alleging the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to implement President Donald Trump’s order exerting federal control of mail ballots risks “catastrophic problems” because of major flaws, and has moved forward despite a court order blocking it.
The whistleblower, a federal official with direct knowledge of the plan, describes a “secretive, rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed process” in the report, which was prepared by the group Whistleblower Aid and sent to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut.
“The Whistleblower also raises grave concerns that the 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,” the report states.
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u/Succubus-Love 5h ago
They want it to "seem" chaotic on purpose, & EVERYONE knows it.
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u/WhodyBootyWhat 3h ago
Uh oh! Looks like a national emergency will need to be declared and elections suspended pending a full investigation that will never end.
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u/PiskoWK 5h ago
Republicans, specifically older ones, use mail in voting the most.
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u/Spaceman-Spiff 5h ago
Well that’s just not true at all. Mail in voting favors dems. It’s why the voting result always flips after mail in voting gets counted. Trump is an idiot, but the man knows how to lie and cheat.
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u/AnonAmbientLight 2h ago
I'm not so certain.
Part of the reason Trump lost in 2020, was that he told his voters not to vote by mail because it was "bad".
And so they didn't and instead stood in lines and Democrats voted by mail because Covid and so in essence got more of the vote out.
I think with Trump fucking with mail in ballots like he is, it will convince more Democrats to vote early or vote in person.
And I would bet my fucking bottom dollar that more Republicans vote by mail this time because they'll think it's "safer" now that Trump has "fixed it".
So I'd expect a higher Dem performance on election night, with some boosts to Republican vote by mail. Basically a "red wave" but it'll probably be more of a trickle.
Then I guess Trump could suggest that Republican mail in votes were fucked with, and try to claim there were more than were really sent in, or something.
Don't think that will work, but the goal isn't for this to work, it's to cause confusion and an opening, like in 2020.
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u/Spaceman-Spiff 1h ago
Trump isn’t the one making the plan, he’s just enacting it. It’s an all out attack to disenfranchise democratic voters. On top of mail in voting being fucked with, they are also purging voter rolls in dem heavy areas, and closing voting places in dem heavy areas. Voting is going to be more difficult in November and it’s all to favor republicans.
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u/AnonAmbientLight 51m ago
Trump isn’t the one making the plan, he’s just enacting it.
While there's room to suggest that someone is directing Trump on some things, Trump's overall way of handling most shit has been him telling people to do shit, and then the underlings try to make it work and figure it out.
That's how he ran his businesses. That's why he says crazy shit because that doesn't really work in government because government doesn't work that way. That's also where the corruption shows up, because Trump doesn't care and probably doesn't understand that's not how it should work.
On top of mail in voting being fucked with, they are also purging voter rolls in dem heavy areas, and closing voting places in dem heavy areas.
They've been doing that for decades. That's not new. Nor a sign that there's some kind of greater thing at play here.
Voting is going to be more difficult in November and it’s all to favor republicans.
The only major difference this year than in previous years is the USPS directly fucking with mail in voting. Which may or may not hurt Republicans this year. Everything else you've mentioned has been a thing that Republicans have been doing for decades.
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u/Cool-Signature-dude 5h ago
All those seniors in assisted living centers will have to get on the bus and vote in person.
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u/missmeowwww 4h ago
How will Mitch McConnell cast his vote from the great beyond if he can’t do absentee voting? Or is it only for democrats and the poor who aren’t allowed to vote by mail?
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u/Cool-Signature-dude 3h ago
You got it, no voted for democrats.
Funny fact about those assisted living places, they used to go around to all the residents and collect their ballots. Then one person would drop them all off at the place where they collect ballots.
They never had a problem with that in the past.
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u/MountNevermind 4h ago edited 4h ago
The secretive plan as described in the article involves only sending ballots to those on a "list". This is selective.
Also (2024 election)...
About 1 in 4 registered Democrats and 1 in 5 registered Republicans voted by mail, as well as 1 in 5 voters who registered with other parties or with no party.
https://statesunited.org/resources/americans-vote-by-mail-2024/
25% of the Democratic vote, 20% of the Republican vote overall
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u/SnooConfections6085 5h ago
There was exactly one election where this wasn't true, and a pandemic was going on.
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u/HomeworkInevitable99 5h ago
No, democrats use it more. The ratio is about 2:1 for Dems v republican
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u/Ordinary-Leading7405 5h ago
True but young democrats are informed and mobile. They will find a way to overcome the mail issue while older GOP voters won’t believe it will affect them.
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u/Archinaught Nebraska 5h ago
Fox News will make sure they know
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u/Ordinary-Leading7405 4h ago
Like Covid, they will not believe it affects them personally until after they discover their ballot wasn’t tallied - if they are even notified about their discarded vote at all.
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u/Lord_Polymath 5h ago
That fact that this is going on is proof that Democrats use mail in more than Republicans.
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u/Faucet860 5h ago
I mean the whistleblower is stating the point everyone outside the cult knew. Seriously the plan is to get less ballots to people that vote against Republicans. Then compound that with states closing polling places in cities and deregistering people.
Personal fact I'm in Nebraska a red state I had to confirm my registration again to vote very weird. Never have done that ever in 24 years. Also I get all my mailings haven't moved in 13 years.
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u/epicredditdude1 5h ago
Don’t vote by mail unless you absolutely have to. Vote in person. Trump will do everything he can to invalidate your vote. Don’t make it easy for him.
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u/Randomwhitelady2 5h ago
If our congress had a backbone, and if our supreme court was not corrupt and illegitimate this would not be happening.
We have to go out in overwhelming numbers and vote this corrupt regime out of office, then prosecute the crimes.
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u/Interesting_Sun_6993 5h ago
Kinda sounds like we are hitting the major core criteria
Extreme Nationalism: obsession with national rebirth, patriotic symbals
Cult of the Leader: powerful, charismatic leader who is portrayed as infallible and demands total, unquestioning loyalty.
Anti-Liberal and Anti-Left: Total opposition to parliamentary democracy
Belief in Struggle: The view that social life is a constant Darwinian struggle
Thats a bold strategy, Cotton. Lets see if it pays off for the american fascist movement
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u/crapshooter_on_swct Wisconsin 5h ago
So the first time I actually need to utilize an absentee ballot will be interesting.
Will be out of state (in a red state) for the next 2 months. No way that is getting delivered!
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u/BugsArePeopleToo 2h ago
At this point I'm half expecting them to dismantle the electoral college, push through legislation that says popular vote wins, and then have a mysterious surge of 200 million people in Florida vote Republican
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u/Personal-Globe 5h ago
The whole point is to rig the election and if that fails, challenge the legitimacy of the vote itself. Democracy will die in plain view under the guise of election security
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u/ApolloX-2 Texas 4h ago
But you’ll be certain his ballot will be fine and also if your ballot belongs to a +20 Trump district that will be fine as well. But somehow all the issues will be blue zip codes and districts. Crazy how machines work, right?
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u/NeverLookBothWays I voted 4h ago
It's really waaaay too late to be doing anything like this. Trump should just be ignored and voting should proceed uninterrupted. States need to stand TF up if they are already supporting mail in ballots.
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u/mishma2005 4h ago
The mid-terms are going to be an exercise in chaos, fear, disruption and violence. This business will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it
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u/LostAbstract 2h ago
Do yourselves a favor and register to vote if you havent. At the same time fully expect to vote in person. Do not rely on mail in ballots to cast your vote as the current administration is ok with tossing out mail in ballots or allowing domestic terrorists to firebomb mailboxes.
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u/daveinfv 2h ago
They will F it up so badly he will toss out results and declare a Natl Emergency. Book it.
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u/Own-Librarian-9699 1h ago
Only catastrophic for 90% of citizens. 10% will be extremely pleased with the results.
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u/anduril_tfotw 1h ago
Why do these reports always sound so surprised to find out information. Yeah we know it will fuck up the election. That's the fucking point are you dense? Did you really need a whistle blower to tell you they want to break the elections? THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT.
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u/Interesting_Play_578 5h ago
I read the proposed rule and it opens the door to multiple forms of abuse.
For example, they want to require elections officials to upload lists of all the ballots they intend to mail out. They specify that the state's chief election official will be the one with authority to authorize other users so that they can delegate the work, i.e. the state official authorizes the county officials to upload their lists so that the counties can mail the ballots.
So think about what happens if a state election official "forgets" to authorize officers from certain counties, and ballots never get mailed, or are mailed too late, just for those counties that happen to vote against the party in power? They're not going to go back and fix it, that's for sure.
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