The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that charges a Postal Service employee in Utah with allegedly disposing of hundreds of mail-in ballots.
Damon Matai Seei was arrested Tuesday and indicted a day later after officials said he "did unlawfully secrete, destroy, and delay mail entrusted to him and which came into his possession."
Seei entered a not guilty plea and was released on his own recognizance.
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According to the department, the employee allegedly failed to deliver approximately 300 ballots to Utah County residents, along with other mail items not related to elections, and instead threw the ballots into a dumpster outside a church parking lot.
“When the defendant allegedly threw away the mail he was entrusted to deliver, he also threw away the chance for those citizens to exercise their right to vote,” said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah.
Earlier this summer, several Utah residents claimed that they were unable to vote in the June 23 primary after failing to receive their ballots through the mail.
“These people were calling us saying, ‘We didn’t get ballots’," Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson told the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City. "They all seemed to be centralized in House District 50.”
Davidson alerted the Inspector General's Office about the missing ballots, leading to the federal investigation. He said he was pleasantly surprised how quickly the U.S. Inspector General's office responded.
"When I called, I had to leave a message and they said expect a call within 30 days," Davidson said. "I got a call back that day. The Inspector General's office, they said they take these very seriously."
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During a media conference Tuesday, department officials did not release a motive for Seei's failure to deliver the ballots.
"I’m grateful that the department takes cases of denying lawful voting just as seriously as alleged illegal voting," Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said of the indictment.
In an interview with the Scripps News Group about Utah election integrity before the indictment was unsealed, Henderson urged voters to sign up for the state's ballot tracking service.
"This is a really important thing for voters to know. To give them confidence, they’ll know when their clerk has mailed them their ballot. They’ll have confidence when they get a notification their clerk has received their ballot and again when their clerk has processed and counted their ballot," said Henderson. "So that is trackmyballot.utah.gov. Go there, sign up for the ballot tracking, and you will know where your ballot is at all times."
Henderson is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for failing to "comply" with her duties as the state's chief elections officer, the agency claims. The investigation came weeks after the department threatened Henderson with criminal prosecution if she failed, as they demanded, to turn over the state's voter records list.
This story was originally published by Jeff Tavss with the Scripps News Group in Salt Lake City.
