A Utah postal worker indicted in federal court is accused of discarding mail ballots during the state’s June primary, the indictment unsealed by the Justice Department says; prosecutors identify the defendant as Damon Matai Seei and say the discarded items included ballots meant for Eagle Mountain-area voters.
The Justice Department’s U.S. attorney’s office in Utah filed the indictment on Sept. 16, 2026, and the Department of Justice announced the charges at a Sept. 22 news conference, where Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter described the case as part of the department’s effort to protect mail voting, according to the DOJ release and reporting by The Salt Lake Tribune.
As alleged in court documents posted by the U.S. attorney’s office, Seei, 34, was working as a letter carrier on June 3, 2026, and discarded hundreds of pieces of mail — including about 300 mail-in ballots — into a dumpster in a church parking lot in Utah County, the DOJ statement says.
The Justice Department said the indictment grew from an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General into nearly 300 ballots that never arrived in voters’ mailboxes, according to The Salt Lake Tribune’s reporting and the DOJ announcement. Seei was arrested and appeared for arraignment in federal court, multiple outlets report.
At the DOJ news conference, McCotter linked the prosecution to broader department priorities and said the case showed why the department seeks stronger mail-tracking rules; The Salt Lake Tribune noted the announcement came amid the DOJ’s legal disputes with Utah officials over voter data and mail-voting rules.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported county election officials first flagged the missing ballots after voters in Eagle Mountain said they never received ballots, prompting local and inspector-general inquiries. County officials told auditors they did not find evidence the missing ballots changed specific race outcomes, the Tribune reported.
The indictment and DOJ release name Seei and give the Sept. 16 indictment date; the department’s public statement and contemporaneous news coverage also record that prosecutors say roughly 300 ballots were discarded and that the U.S. Postal Service inspector general opened the initial probe into the lost mail, according to the Justice Department and The Salt Lake Tribune.
What happens next: the federal case proceeds in U.S. District Court, where Seei has been arraigned and faces the charges laid out in the indictment; the DOJ said it is pursuing the matter as part of election-protection priorities announced at the same news conference.
Related coverage on this site includes reporting on election officials’ duties and legal risks and a recent profile of the U.S. attorney who announced the case. For background on federal election enforcement and legal fights over mail voting, see election official: duties, legal risks and recent DOJ letters and Todd Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in August and sworn in as U.S. attorney.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Justice — official press release unsealing the indictment and describing alleged disposal of mail and ballots (Damon Matai Seei).
- The Salt Lake Tribune — reporting on the DOJ news conference, the inspector general probe into nearly 300 missing ballots, and local election official statements.
- Associated Press — live coverage noting the arrest, arraignment, and DOJ statements at the news conference.
