Utah carrier indicted for dumping 300 primary ballots

Damon Matai Seei separated hundreds of mail-in ballots from the rest of his load shortly after starting his shift on June 3, 2026, and within about 90 minutes threw them into a dumpster in a church parking lot. He delivered none of them.

The ballots were clearly marked and meant for Eagle Mountain residents ahead of Utah’s June 23 primary. Federal prosecutors say the former U.S. Postal Service letter carrier discarded approximately 300 of them, along with other mail he had been entrusted to carry.

A federal grand jury indicted Seei, 34, of Payson, on Sept. 16 on a charge of unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail. The indictment was unsealed Sept. 22. That same day he was arrested, arraigned at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse in Salt Lake City, and entered a not guilty plea. His next court date is Nov. 30.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter announced the case at a Justice Department news conference in Washington, D.C., joined by U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah and officials from Homeland Security Investigations and the Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

“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.”

Holyoak framed the alleged act as a direct injury to the franchise. “When the defendant allegedly threw away the mail he was entrusted to deliver, he also threw away the chance for those citizens to exercise their right to vote. Our office, along with our law enforcement partners, takes these offenses seriously and will continue to investigate them to ensure justice is served for anyone whose constitutional right to vote has been infringed.”

John A. Condon, acting executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations, said every eligible voter deserves confidence that elections are lawful, secure, and fair. Robert Kwalwasser, the Postal Service’s assistant inspector general of investigation, said employees entrusted with delivering mail must uphold the highest standards of integrity and that those who destroy mail intended for recipients will be held accountable for their criminal actions.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd C. Bouton. It was investigated jointly by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and Homeland Security Investigations. Officials said the probe remains ongoing.

Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson described how the problem first surfaced. Residents called the clerk’s office saying ballots never arrived. “These people were calling us saying, ‘We didn’t get ballots.’ They all seemed to be centralized in House District 50.”

Eagle Mountain voters later described being unable to vote in the June 23 primary after not receiving ballots. Whether those residents ultimately cast ballots is not established in the public materials released with the indictment.

A government memo, reported by NBC News’ Ryan J. Reilly and Justin Goldman, records what Seei told investigators about his own conduct. “He claims he simply made a ‘poor decision’ out of ‘frustration’ and ‘laziness.’” Officials have not identified a separate motive. That account is the defense the record presently supplies: not a scheme, but an overwhelmed carrier who says he meant to lighten a load of advertisements and ended up discarding ballots as well. Seei has pleaded not guilty. An indictment remains an allegation; he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Postal Service exists by statute and by public trust. Letter carriers handle private correspondence and, in a state where the great majority of voters cast ballots by mail, the physical instruments of self-government. When a carrier allegedly sorts ballots out of a route and dumps them in a church parking lot dumpster before the shift is ninety minutes old, the failure is concrete. Limited government depends on officials who perform the jobs they are paid to do. The Constitution protects the right to vote; the criminal law of the mail is one of the ordinary tools that keep that right from becoming a paper promise. A system that relies on the mail cannot treat the destruction of ballots as a clerical mishap.

McCotter linked the prosecution to the department’s stated priority. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Blanche, this department is committed to protecting the vote of American citizens.”

Utah already offers voters a practical check on the chain of custody. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has pointed residents to the state’s ballot-tracking site. “This is a really important thing for voters to know. To give them confidence, they’ll know when their clerk has mailed them their ballot,” she said. “So that is trackmyballot.utah.gov. Go there, sign up for the ballot tracking, and you will know where your ballot is at all times.”

Most Utah voters vote by mail. That arrangement works only if the mail arrives. A carrier who allegedly discarded roughly 300 ballots in a single dumpster load tested the premise in Eagle Mountain in early June. The grand jury’s indictment, the arrest, and the not-guilty plea put the allegation before a federal court. The next scheduled decision is Nov. 30.