SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A U.S. Postal Service worker in Utah has been charged and arrested over allegations of voter fraud. U.S. Justice Department officials said the worker admitted to throwing away about 300 ballots and other mail. The charges were announced at a news conference in Washington, DC. The worker was identified as Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson. Authorities said his mail route was in Eagle Mountain. Attendees included Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah Melissa Holyoak, and officials from Homeland Security Investigators and the USPS Office of Inspector General. McCotter said Seei admitted to throwing the ballots in the dumpster in June. Holyoak said it did not appear that Seei had a political agenda. There was no indication that ballots were discarded because of voters’ political affiliations. Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson issued the following statement: “Today, the Department of Justice announced charges against a Utah postal worker accused of throwing away more than 300 mail-in ballots in the June primary election. U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak correctly asserted that Utahns’ right to vote was wasted when their ballots were thrown into the trash. I appreciate that the department takes cases of legal denial of voting as seriously as cases of alleged illegal voting.” statement:”The Postal Service has a long-standing commitment to protecting the security and sanctity of the U.S. Mail, working closely with our law enforcement arm, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Safeguarding the mail and maintaining the public’s trust are critical to our core mission. Illegal mail tampering behavior by employees will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held accountable to the Postal Service and with full force of law. USPIS was notified of a mail dumping incident, which consisted of general mail, That information led postal inspectors to conclude that this matter was likely related to an employee and, therefore, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) had primary jurisdiction. Postal inspectors referred the incident to the OIG. The OIG is the entity specifically charged with investigating alleged crimes committed by Postal Service employees. public in the mail and monitors to prevent any problems that may arise.
