Sept. 22 (UPI) — A former U.S. Postal Service worker has been indicted forallegedly throwing away about 300 mail-in ballots earlier this year in Utah.
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed the indictment Tuesday as Damon Matai Seei, 34, of Payson, Utah, appeared for his arraignment at the Orrin G. Hatch U.S. Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
Seei was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday. He faces charges of unlawful secretion, destruction and delay of mail for allegedly throwing the ballots into a dumpster in a church parking lot.
Justice Department officials alleged in a detention memo that Seei said in an interview that he threw away the ballots and other mail on June 3 to “lighten his workload.” He said in a written statement that he felt “overwhelmed” that day and decided to “get rid of advertisement mail.”
Seei said he had no political agenda and didn’t mean to throw away ballots, the memo said, but that he made a “poor decision” out of “frustration” and “laziness.” The ballots were to be delivered to Eagle Mountain, Utah, residents to allow them to vote in the June 23 primary election.
“When American voters lawfully cast their vote, they should feel confident that it is counted,” said acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter in a statement. “Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. Ballot integrity is not a partisan issue.”
Seei’s next court appearance is set for Nov. 30.
The indictment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has, without evidence, alleged an epidemic of voter fraud, especially in mail-in voting. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration’s plans to limit mail-in voting for the November midterm elections.
Source: U.S. News
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