<p>Federal prosecutors have charged a former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Utah with allegedly discarding hundreds of pieces of mail, including approximately 300 mail-in ballots intended for voters in Eagle Mountain ahead of the state’s June primary.</p>
<p>A federal grand jury indicted Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, on September 16 on charges of unlawful secretion, destruction, and delay of mail. The indictment was unsealed on September 22. Seei was arrested and appeared for arraignment at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse, with his next court appearance scheduled for November 30.</p>
<p>According to court documents, Seei was working as a letter carrier on June 3 and was assigned to deliver mail to at least 300 Eagle Mountain residents. Prosecutors allege that the mail included advertisements and ballots sent to registered voters for the June 23 primary election.</p>
<p>Instead of delivering some of that mail, Seei allegedly placed it in a dumpster in a church parking lot, according to prosecutors. The charges are allegations, and Seei is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.</p>
<p>The case follows reports from Eagle Mountain residents who stated they did not receive ballots in time to vote in the primary. Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson noted that the complaints appeared concentrated in House District 50.</p>
<p>Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, framed the Utah prosecution as part of a broader department focus on election-related offenses. McCotter stated that the Justice Department has thousands of election-related investigations either ongoing or awaiting further action, contrasting this with a smaller election-enforcement caseload during the Biden administration.</p>
<p>“When American voters lawfully cast their vote, they should feel confident that it is counted,” McCotter said. “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.”</p>
<p>Officials did not provide insight into the specific motivations behind the alleged actions or whether they were political in nature.</p>
<p>Melissa Holyoak, the U.S. attorney for Utah, stated that the alleged conduct deprived residents of an opportunity to exercise their voting rights. Holyoak also mentioned that there were other pieces of mail thrown in the trash along with the ballots.</p>
<p>The investigation was conducted jointly by the Postal Service Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations.</p>
<p>Just last week, the DOJ announced charges against 16 individuals in separate cases involving alleged illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration, and related election-fraud offenses nationwide. These cases included allegations of noncitizens voting in federal elections or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register or vote, as well as related wire, naturalization, passport, and firearm fraud charges. The defendants were charged across eight federal districts, with eight of the cases brought in Texas.</p>
<p>The Utah case occurs as the department expands its election-monitoring plans for the November midterm elections. Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who leads the Civil Rights Division, stated that the department was nearing its target of recruiting 1,000 lawyers and other trained legal staff to monitor selected general-election jurisdictions.</p>
<p>The planned deployment would be the largest federal election-monitoring contingent in U.S. history, according to Dhillon.</p>