The chief of the U.S. Postal Service confirmed the agency has pulled back from a computer system that would have verified mail-in ballots for the midterm elections under an executive order from President Donald Trump.
In a Thursday interview with the Associated Press, Postmaster General David Steiner said “we’re not doing anything” because of a preliminary injunction upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this week.
The decision means the ballot-verification system will not be in place for the upcoming vote. The order had required the agency to build a system that would verify mail-in ballots for the midterm elections, but the court ruling blocked its implementation.
Steiner’s Statement
Steiner’s remarks confirm the scope of the shutdown. He said the agency has ceased work on the system entirely, citing the court ruling against it. His statement, delivered in response to questions from the AP, made clear that the agency has stopped working on the project.
The timing matters. Midterm elections are approaching, and the system would have been designed to verify mail-in ballots for those races. The court’s action removed that requirement.
“We’re not doing anything.”
What the Order Required
Trump issued an executive order directing the Postal Service to develop the system. The order was meant to add a layer of verification to the voting process, with the midterm elections as the target for implementation.
The preliminary injunction blocked the order’s implementation. That injunction was upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this week, sealing the fate of the project.
The system was designed to verify mail-in ballots for the midterm elections. With the court ruling now final, the agency has no remaining obligation to proceed.
The Decision and Its Context
The court’s action is the central fact here. The decision applies to the midterm elections. The system was built with those elections in mind, and the ruling means the agency will not have that capability in place.
| Party | Position |
|---|---|
| Trump administration | Ordered the system’s development |
| Postal Service | Ceased work on the system |
| Court | Upheld the preliminary injunction |
The agency has confirmed it will not attempt to revive the project. The court has spoken, and the agency has responded.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the Supreme Court’s decision blocking the system and is against the Postal Service building a ballot-verification system under the president’s executive order. Steiner’s statement — “we’re not doing anything” — confirms the shutdown.
The order directed the agency to build a system verifying mail-in ballots for the midterms. The court ruled against it. The paper opposes any office gathering power over private life, and this case shows that power gathering in one place, an agency acting on executive command, can get abused. The court ruling stopped that abuse before it took hold.
The reader should watch for further attempts to gather power over voting through executive orders. When the court acts, the agency must respond.
See the a run of 14 images at the Washington Examiner.
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