US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary

The U.S. Justice Department has charged a Utah postal worker with discarding over 300 mail ballots intended for voters in the state's June primary election, according to an announcement on Tuesday. Damon Matai Seei, a 34-year-old postal carrier from Payson, Utah, appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City and pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of destruction or delay of mail. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in federal prison.

Seei was delivering mail in Eagle Mountain, a conservative suburb of Provo, when he allegedly stuffed the ballots and other mail into a dumpster at a church parking lot shortly after starting his shift on the day of the primary election. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stated that authorities asked Seei about his motives, and he admitted to having no political agenda. He claimed his actions were motivated by "laziness," stating he wanted to "lighten his workload."