Fulton County announced it will file a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to challenge the FBI’s seizure of roughly 700 boxes of 2020 election materials. The county plans to invoke Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g) to seek the return of original ballots and voter rolls, arguing agents may have lacked authority to take custody of originals. Officials also say no chain-of-custody inventory was recorded and ask the court to require forensic review and keep records under seal in Georgia.
Fulton County to File Federal Motion Seeking Return of 700 Boxes of 2020 Ballots Seized by FBI
Georgia General Election 2020 ballots are loaded onto trucks by the FBI, at the Fulton County Election Hub in Union City, Georgia, on January 28. - Mike Stewart/AP
Fulton County officials announced they will file a federal motion challenging the legality of the FBI’s recent search and seizure of election materials from the county’s 2020 election records.
Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the county intends to ask a federal judge in the Northern District of Georgia to compel the return of the original ballots and voter rolls removed during the search. "We want to force the government to return the ballots taken," Arrington said in a press release.
The FBI executed a warrant at the Fulton County Elections Office near Atlanta last Wednesday and removed roughly 700 boxes of ballots, voter rolls and other election-related documents as part of an investigation into alleged voter fraud tied to the 2020 presidential election.
Fulton County plans to invoke Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41(g), which allows a person aggrieved by an unlawful search or seizure to request the return of property. County attorneys are expected to file a motion in federal court this week to seek that relief and to challenge the scope of the warrant.
Arrington and county officials contend that while the FBI had authorization to copy records under a separate court order, agents lacked proper authority to take physical custody of the original ballots and voter rolls. "They got copies of our voter rolls and all the original ballots," Arrington said, adding the county cannot confirm whether everything has been returned because no chain-of-custody inventory was recorded at the time of seizure.
The county’s anticipated motion will also ask the court to require forensic review protections, keep the records under seal in Georgia, and otherwise safeguard voter information and the integrity of the documents while the matter is litigated.
An FBI spokesperson at the scene told reporters the materials would be transported to the FBI Central Records Complex in Virginia. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment about Fulton County’s planned legal action.
Next steps: County attorneys are expected to file the 41(g) motion in the Northern District of Georgia seeking the return of the originals and procedural safeguards; the federal court will determine whether the seizure and handling complied with applicable law and procedures.
This article will be updated as the county files its motion and the court provides further information.
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