Fulton County, Georgia, will ask a federal judge on Friday to order the return of 2020 election ballots seized by the FBI during a January 28 search of the county’s election center. The hearing in Atlanta federal court is expected to examine the evidence supporting the seizure of more than 600 boxes of ballots.
The raid, attended by Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, underscores the Trump administration’s efforts to reinvestigate former President Donald Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat. Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that widespread voter fraud cost him the election to Democrat Joe Biden, fueling doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections ahead of the November midterms.
Lawyers for Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta, have challenged the search, arguing it violated constitutional rights and relied on debunked allegations. “Despite years of investigations of the 2020 election, the FBI had not identified facts that establish probable cause that anyone committed a crime,” the county’s legal team stated in court filings.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee of Atlanta agreed to hear evidence regarding the search but denied the county’s request to have the FBI agent who drafted the supporting affidavit testify. Meanwhile, the Justice Department contends Fulton County is attempting to disrupt an active investigation and cannot override a magistrate judge’s approval of the warrant.
FBI agents seized a substantial volume of material related to the 2020 election, including original ballots. Authorities cited alleged “deficiencies or defects” in the vote, such as missing digital ballot images and absentee ballots not folded according to procedure.
The investigation reportedly began after a referral from Kurt Olsen, a lawyer involved in Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election who was later tasked by the White House to re-examine the vote. Prosecutors are investigating potential violations of records retention laws and statutes prohibiting attempts to defraud or deprive residents of a fair election.
Fulton County’s lawyers have challenged the credibility of witnesses interviewed by the FBI, including Republican members of the Georgia State Election Board, noting that some errors were innocent and others reflected misunderstandings of election procedures.
As a Democratic stronghold critical to the 2020 election outcome, Fulton County became a focal point for Trump’s post-election claims and conspiracy theories. Biden’s significant margin there helped flip Georgia to the Democrats in 2020, though the state swung back to Trump in 2024.
