A federal judge is weighing Fulton County’s demand that the FBI return ballots and records from the 2020 election that were seized from an Atlanta-area warehouse.
FILE - FBI agents are seen at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Jan. 28, 2026, in Union City, Ga., near Atlanta. FILE - Georgia general election 2020 ballots are loaded by the FBI onto trucks at the Fulton County Election HUB, Jan.
28, 2026, in Union City, Ga., near Atlanta. FILE - FBI agents are seen at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Jan. 28, 2026, in Union City, Ga., near Atlanta. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in a scheduling order that the hearing was needed after the two sides failed to reach an agreement in court-ordered mediation.near Atlanta targeted the elections hub in Georgia's most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of the city of Atlanta. Fulton County has been at the The FBI's move was one of several actions by the Trump administration that have alarmed Democrats and many election officials who are concerned it is using law enforcement to pursue the president's personal grievances and isto obtain records related to a controversial audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona, another battleground statethat includes sensitive personal information. Election officials, including some Republicans, have said handing over the information would violate state and federal privacy laws. Lawyers for Fulton County argued in a court filing that the seizure of its documents was “improper and unjustified” and demonstrates “callous disregard” for the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. The Justice Department seeks to “set a precedent that would grant the federal government unchecked power to interfere with the local administration of elections,” they wrote. Justice Department attorneys argued that preparing a detailed affidavit and presenting it to a judge “is the exact opposite of ‘callous disregard’” for those constitutional rights. “Their goal to disrupt an ongoing federal criminal investigation is clear,” they wrote of Fulton County officials. The Justice Department said it is investigating “irregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the County” and identified two laws that might have been violated. One requires election records to be maintained for 22 months, while the other prohibits procuring, casting or tabulating false, fictitious or fraudulent ballots. The filing said the FBI is looking into whether Fulton County properly retained ballot images; whether some ballots were scanned and counted multiple times; whether unfolded, unmailed ballots were counted as mail-in absentee ballots; and potential irregularities concerning tabulator tapes from the scanners used to count ballots. Fulton County's lawyers wrote that the “deficiencies” or “defects” in the county's handling of the 2020 election cited in the affidavit are the kinds of human errors that commonly occur without any intentional wrongdoing and cannot establish probable cause. To support their claims, Fulton officials submitted a sworn declaration from Ryan Macias, an election technology and security expert who advised the county during the 2020 election. He said the affidavit contains “a multitude of false or misleading statements and omissions” and offered explanations for the alleged “deficiencies.”Federal government lawyers rejected the idea that the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit “intentionally or recklessly misled” the judge, writing that “the supposed misrepresentations and omissions flagged by Petitioners are illusory and/or immaterial." They also asserted that a lapse of the statute of limitations on the potential crimes does not negate probable cause. Justice Department lawyers say they don't believe the records were “properly retained and preserved” and wrote that Fulton County officials “can hardly claim a meaningful interest” in the records because the clerk of courts previously sought permission from a judge to destroy them. The department also noted that a federal magistrate judge reviewed the FBI affidavit and signed off on the search warrant. Fulton County sought to have the FBI agent who wrote the affidavit testify at Friday’s hearing, but the Justice Department objected and the judge sided with the federal government and quashed the subpoena. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Hundreds of millions of dollars lost each year to scams at crypto ATMsFamily reacts to guilty verdict in Christopher Preciado trialCastle Hills police department says the armed suspect shot this morning has diedRecords show New Braunfels ISD pulling, restricting more books than it has publicly listed74 year old woman hit crossing South General McMullenNew emissions test could cost Bexar County vehicle ownersSan Antonio attorney admits stealing over half a million dollars from children's inheritance.Spurs respond after viral video at game sparks backlashReuniting items found along the Guadalupe River after the deadly floods
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