Utah Postal Worker Faces Charges for Discarding 300 Ballots
WHO:
CBS News - Damon Matai Seei, a 34-year-old U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Utah.
CBS News - Trent McCotter, Acting Deputy Attorney General.
CBS News - Melissa Holyoak, U.S. attorney for Utah.
CBS News - Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican.
CBS News - President Trump.
WHAT:
CBS News - Seei was indicted for allegedly throwing about 300 clearly marked mail-in ballots into a church dumpster before the June 23 primary.
NBC News - The postal worker discarded the ballots out of "laziness."
CBS News - Seei has been charged with throwing out more than 300 ballots intended for voters.
CBS News - Seei was arrested and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City, where he entered a not guilty plea.
IJR - Seei allegedly discarded about 300 clearly marked mail-in ballots into a church dumpster.
WHERE:
CBS News - Eagle Mountain, Utah, where Seei was delivering mail.
IJR - The ballots were discarded in a church dumpster.
WHEN:
CBS News - The ballots were intended for the state's June primary.
CBS News - Seei threw the ballots and other mail into a dumpster within 90 minutes of starting his shift.
WHY:
CBS News - Melissa Holyoak stated that Seei "immediately took the ballots and set them aside" and "did not deliver a single one."
CBS News - Seei indicated to authorities that he had no political agenda for his actions.
CBS News - Prosecutors stated that Seei admitted he threw away the mail to "lighten his workload" so he could presumably go home earlier.
HOW:
CBS News - Seei separated the ballots from other mail and discarded them in a dumpster shortly after starting his shift.
(UPDATED September 23, 2026 02:05 UTC)
A postal worker named Seei has been indicted for allegedly discarding around 300 clearly marked mail-in ballots by throwing them into a church dumpster before the June 23 primary. According to Melissa Holyoak, Seei reportedly set the ballots aside and did not deliver any of them, citing "laziness" as the reason for this action. The situation has raised significant concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
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(UPDATED September 23, 2026 01:21 UTC)
Damon Matai Seei, a 34-year-old U.S. Postal Service letter carrier from Eagle Mountain, Utah, has been charged with discarding over 300 mail-in ballots intended for voters during the state's June primary. He was arrested and appeared in federal court in Salt Lake City, where he entered a not guilty plea, claiming he had no political agenda for his actions, but admitted to throwing away the mail to lighten his workload. The ballots were found in a church dumpster, and prosecutors noted that Seei discarded them shortly after starting his shift.