A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) worker in Utah was indicted after allegedly setting aside more than 300 mail-in ballots at the start of his shift and dumping them without delivering a single one, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said on charges related to the case Tuesday.
Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 16, on a charge related to the unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail. He was arrested Tuesday and made his initial appearance in federal court in Salt Lake City.
Federal prosecutors allege Seei was working as a letter carrier on June 3, when he was entrusted with delivering mail to more than 300 people in Eagle Mountain, Utah, ahead of the state’s June 23 primary election.
The mail included advertisements and hundreds of mail-in ballots that were clearly marked as ballots, according to DOJ officials.
Officials said Seei separated the ballots from other mail shortly after beginning his shift, did not deliver any of them and discarded them roughly 90 minutes later. Other mail was also discarded, officials said.
Several voters later complained to the Utah County Clerk that they had not received their mail-in ballots, U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah said Tuesday.
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Using county databases, the clerk determined that voter participation was unusually low in the area where the complaints originated, according to Holyoak.
It remains unclear whether the affected voters ultimately received replacement ballots or were able to vote. Holyoak said federal officials are continuing to investigate and plan to contact affected voters to determine whether they were able to cast ballots.
Seei has told investigators that he did not have a political motive, according to DOJ officials. The investigation remains ongoing.
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“When American voters lawfully cast their vote, they should feel confident that it is counted,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. Ballot integrity is not a partisan issue.”
The case was investigated jointly by the USPS of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Seei’s next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 30.