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Former USPS worker indicted for allegedly discarding mail-in ballots

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Cite

Keppeler, J. (2026, September 23). Former USPS worker indicted for allegedly discarding mail-in ballots. UPI. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/22/usps-worker-indicted-for-allegedly-discarding-ballots/2671790122214/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

UPI · collected 2026-09-23 · by Jill Keppeler

Quick Summary

On September 22, Damon Matai Seei, a former USPS worker from Payson, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury and appeared in court for allegedly discarding approximately 300 mail-in ballots earlier this year. According to the Justice Department, Seei claimed he threw away the ballots and other mail on June 3 due to feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with his workload. The incident affected voters scheduled to receive their ballots for the June 23 primary election in Eagle Mountain, Utah. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter emphasized that such actions undermine election integrity.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A 34-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker named Damon Matai Seei was charged with throwing away approximately 300 mail-in ballots in Eagle Mountain, Utah, shortly before the state’s June 23 primary election. The ballots were among other mail that Seei placed in a dumpster at a church parking lot to lighten his workload, as he felt overwhelmed on the job. Seei pleaded not guilty and faces charges of unlawful secretion, destruction, and delay of mail. The incident raised concerns about voter security and prompted reactions from voting rights experts who note isolated instances of fraud but argue they are insufficient to alter election outcomes.

Written for “Postal Worker Dumped Ballots” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Postal Worker Dumped Ballots
Crime & Law · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Justice Department charges Utah postal worker for dumping mail ballots in trash during state primary Same event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
DOJ charges Utah postal worker for allegedly dumping mail ballots in trash Same event
CBS News
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 66/100
Utah postal worker dumped 300 mail ballots in trash during state primary, DOJ says Same event
The Independent
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 59/100
Postal worker tossed 300 mail-in ballots in a parking lot garbage out of ‘laziness’ Same event
NBC News
Hedges 5 of 25 claims Outlet record 60/100
DOJ charges Utah USPS worker after 300 mail-in ballots allegedly tossed in dumpster Same event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 5 of 24 claims Outlet record 70/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
2 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
56/100
UPI's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

UPI · 58 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)
2026-08-26
7th inmate at Rikers Island dies this year

Who wrote this

Jill Keppeler
3 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 This meant the state would use voting maps with the congressional districts it used in 2022 and 2024.
2026-09-22 · assertive framing · Appeals court brings back Republican-backed Missouri voting map
🔮 The new rules would give the U.S. Postal Service unprecedented power to withhold mail-in ballots.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Supreme Court rejects Trump plan to limit mail-in voting for midterms
Also by Jill Keppeler
Appeals court brings back Republican-backed Missouri voting map
2026-09-22 · UPI
Supreme Court rejects Trump plan to limit mail-in voting for midterms
2026-09-15 · UPI
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Payson Salt Lake City The U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Postal Service Utah

Subjects

Seei PERSON · 4× Utah GPE · 3× American NORP · 1× Damon Matai Seei PERSON · 1× Eagle Mountain GPE · 1× Justice Department ORG · 1× Payson GPE · 1× Salt Lake City GPE · 1× The U.S. Department of Justice ORG · 1× U.S. Postal Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
2026-09-23 · UPI
Former USPS worker indicted for allegedly discarding mail-in ballots · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 2 hedged)

A former U.S. Postal Service worker has been indicted forallegedly throwing away about 300 mail-in ballots earlier this year in Utah. asserted
worker → indict → 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. asserted
Seei → unseal → City
Seei was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday. asserted
Seei → indict → 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. uncertain
He → face → 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." asserted
he → allege → workload
He said in a written statement that he felt "overwhelmed" that day and decided to "get rid of advertisement mail." asserted
he → say → 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." asserted
he → say → frustration
The ballots were to be delivered to Eagle Mountain, Utah, residents to allow them to vote in the June 23 primary election. asserted
them → deliver → 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. asserted
McCotter → cast → statement
"Allegedly throwing away hundreds of ballots is a serious federal crime that undermines the integrity of our elections. uncertain
that → throw → elections
Seei's next court appearance is set for Nov. 30. asserted
appearance → set → Nov.
The indictment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has, without evidence, alleged an epidemic of voter fraud, especially in mail-in voting. asserted
Trump → come → voting
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the administration's plans to limit mail-in voting for the November midterm elections. asserted
Court → reject → elections
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