RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada election officials say their worst suspicions have been confirmed one day after a United States Postal Service whistleblower exposed problems with the agency’s mail-in ballot portal.
The accusations come as there’s currently a temporary restraining order in place to prevent the USPS from implementing its ballot program.
Nevada’s Secretary of State says voters need to keep in mind this isn’t about the postal service.
“First of all, let’s make this clear; it’s not the postal service that wants this database or this portal. It is the President of the United States,” Cisco Aguilar, Nevada Secretary of State said.
Aguilar says Nevada is just one of more than 20 states that has asked a judge to stop the U.S Postal Service from implementing its new mail-in ballot system.
A judge has issued a temporary restraining order, which prevents the USPS from further pursuing the system, for now. But the whistleblower’s allegations indicate the agency has been testing its system since June.
If true, that’s a violation of the temporary restraining order.
“It is going to help us in our case before this judge because this judge is going to see they have clearly defied her orders and that we are trying to do what is in the best interest of voters across the state,” Aguilar said.
What may be more alarming, the whistleblower says test runs of the system have failed.
The person claims as many as 10,000 completed ballots could be sent back to registrars’ offices if there is a barcode problem or other issues on just one ballot.
Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal was the first to receive the whistleblower’s report.
He says the U.S. Postal Service system has one goal in mind: to crash during mid-term elections.
“This system is designed to fail. It is constructed to crash. It is sloppy, haphazard hasty, which is negligent. But is it also intentional,” Senator Blumenthal said.
Aguilar says the alleged goal of the USPS system is to protect the integrity of the vote. He adds that their system is redundant and does exactly what Nevada’s mail-in systems already do.
Aguilar emphasized that the constitution is clear; elections are up to the states. He says the federal government has never conducted an election in its history and can’t do it in a matter of months.
“They want to take control and we’ve been pushing back, saying this is a state right. This is a fundamental right of the state, and we control this process, not the federal government,“ Aguilar said.
Secretary Aguilar says, for now, nothing has changed in Nevada.
However, he says voters need to check if their registration is correct and make changes with the local elections department if needed.
Make a plan, which may include participating in early voting which begins October 17, 2026.
Mail ballots at least 10 days before November 3, 2026.
Drop off boxes are available for completed ballots as an alternative to a mailbox.
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