{
  "id": 9249469,
  "title": "US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/us-justice-department-charges-utah-postal-worker-with-dumping-mail",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T02:42:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20260923/us-justice-department-charges-utah-postal-worker-with-dumping-mail-ballots-in-trash-during-primary"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Damon Matai Seei, 34, from Payson, Utah, has been charged by the Justice Department with discarding over 300 mail ballots intended for voters in the state's June primary. Seei was apprehended on Tuesday and appeared in a federal court in Salt Lake City to be arraigned. He pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of destruction or delay of mail. Should he be found guilty, he could serve up to five years in federal prison. According to McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general, Seei disposed of the ballots and other mail into a dumpster at a church parking lot shortly after his shift began. The U.S. attorney for Utah, Melissa Holyoak, stated that Seei claimed to have no political motive and that he discarded the mail due to a lack of motivation, specifically to \"lighten his workload.\"",
  "summary": "SALT LAKE CITY — A U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah threw out more than 300 mail ballots that were being sent to voters for the state's June primary , the Justice Department said Tuesday. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said during a news conference that Damon Matai Seei was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City to be arraigned. The 34-year-old…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Justice Department charges Utah postal worker for dumping mail ballots in trash during state primary",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/justice-department-charges-utah-postal-worker-for-dumping-mail",
        "published": "2026-09-22T21:26:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Justice Department indicts former postal worker for tossing out mail-in ballots in Utah",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/justice-department-indicts-former-postal-worker-for-tossing-out-mail",
        "published": "2026-09-22T22:43:53.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "DOJ charges Utah postal worker for allegedly dumping mail ballots in trash",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/doj-charges-utah-postal-worker-for-allegedly-dumping-mail-ballots-in",
        "published": "2026-09-22T23:50:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "US Justice Department charges Utah postal worker with dumping mail ballots in trash during primary",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/us-justice-department-charges-utah-postal-worker-with-dumping-mail-9253270",
        "published": "2026-09-23T03:12:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}