Up to date Sept. 23, 2026, 9:35 p.m. ET
A grand jury in Utah indicted a former United States Postal Service service on allegations he unlawfully threw away mail he was assigned to ship, together with a whole bunch of mail-in ballots to registered voters.
Damon Matai Seei, 34, appeared for his arraignment on Sept. 22 on the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse on a cost of illegal secretion, destruction and delay of mail, simply over per week after a federal grand jury handed down its choice, U.S. Legal professional Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah mentioned.
“When the defendant allegedly threw away the mail he was entrusted to ship, he additionally threw away the possibility for these residents to train their proper to vote,” Holyoak wrote in a information launch. “Our workplace, together with our legislation enforcement companions, takes these offenses critically and can proceed to analyze them to make sure justice is served for anybody whose constitutional proper to vote has been infringed.”
Seei, of Payson, a metropolis in Utah County about 60 miles south of Salt Lake Metropolis, mentioned he didn’t have a political agenda when he tossed greater than 300 ballots right into a church car parking zone dumpster on June 3, courtroom papers reviewed by USA TODAY present. On the time, Seei was working as a letter service delivering mail to almost 300 Eagle Mountain residents dwelling in District 50.
A number of Eagle Mountain-area voters later complained to Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson they by no means obtained their mail-in ballots, prompting an investigation. Authorities later realized 304 voters in District 50 “by no means obtained their mail-in ballots,” courtroom papers learn.
In a written stateement, Seei instructed investigators he felt “overwhelmed” that day by the quantity of mail he needed to ship, as a result of the workload was heavier than ordinary so he determined to “eliminate commercial mail” to rapidly ship all the pieces else.
“He claimed to not be a really political particular person,” prosecutors wrote in courtroom filings. “He claimed to not have a political agenda and that he didn’t intend to disrupt any political course of by discarding the mail. He claims he merely made a poor choice out of frustration and laziness.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Seei’s lawyer for remark.
Seei now not works for USPS and is due again in courtroom on Nov. 30, courtroom paperwork and on-line data present.
“When American voters lawfully solid their vote, they need to really feel assured that it’s counted,” mentioned Division of Justice Performing Deputy Legal professional Common Trent McCotter. “Allegedly throwing away a whole bunch of ballots is a critical federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. Poll integrity is just not a partisan situation.”
How did the Supreme Courtroom vote on mail-in ballots?
The plea got here simply over one week after the Supreme Courtroom declined to let the Postal Service tighten the usage of postal voting forward of the November midterm elections that can resolve management of Congress.
President Donald Trump has pushed for higher federal management of elections, that are administered by states.
The Trump administration, which requested the excessive courtroom to let the Postal Service tighten the usage of mail-in ballots, needed states present voter lists to the Postal Service to test for fraud earlier than delivering them.
Trump criticized the Supreme Courtroom after it rejected his plan to maintain mail-in ballots for the upcoming elections on maintain, calling the justices’ ruling “one other dangerous choice” from the courtroom that might make the nation a “laughing inventory.”
“The Courtroom’s incapacity and unwillingness to do the best factor for our Nation will go down, in a really adverse means,” Trump wrote in a Sept. 15 publish on Reality Social.
In unsubstantiated allegations, Trump continues to publicly assert the 2020 election was rigged. Despite the fact that Trump gained again the White Home in 2024, a number of courtroom instances, specialists and state audits have concluded former President Joe Biden beat Trump within the 2020 race.
Contributing: Bart Jansen and Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending information for USA TODAY. Attain her at nalund@usatoday.com and observe her on Twitter @nataliealund.
