The dispute centers on a Jan. 28 FBI seizure of ballots and election materials from a Fulton County warehouse. Fulton County contends the search violated Fourth Amendment protections and represents undue federal intrusion into local election administration. The Justice Department says a magistrate reviewed and authorized the affidavit supporting the warrant and that investigators have probable cause to probe alleged 2020 election irregularities. A court hearing will determine whether the seized materials must be returned.
Fulton County Seeks Return of 2020 Ballots Seized by FBI; Court to Hear Arguments
FILE - FBI agents are seen at the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center, Jan. 28, 2026, in Union City, Ga., near Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A federal judge in Atlanta is set to hear arguments Friday on Fulton County's request that the FBI return ballots and related election materials seized in connection with the 2020 presidential election.
Background: U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee scheduled the hearing after court-ordered mediation between Fulton County and the Justice Department failed to produce an agreement. The materials were seized on Jan. 28 from a warehouse near Atlanta that served as an elections hub for Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county.
Dispute Over Search and Seizure
Fulton County lawyers say the FBI’s seizure was "improper and unjustified" and amounted to a "callous disregard" for Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. They argue the action risks setting a precedent that would allow the federal government to unduly interfere with local election administration.
In court filings, the county emphasized that multiple state and independent reviews — including counts of Georgia’s 2020 presidential vote that were performed by hand and machine — confirmed Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Justice Department's Position
The Justice Department says it has probable cause to investigate alleged irregularities in the 2020 election in Fulton County and identified two statutes that may have been violated: the 22-month election-records retention requirement and a law prohibiting procurement, casting or tabulating of false or fraudulent ballots.
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. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
According to the FBI affidavit, investigators are probing whether Fulton County properly retained ballot images, whether some ballots were scanned and counted multiple times, whether unfolded and unmailed ballots were improperly treated as mail-in absentee ballots, and whether there were irregularities with tabulator tapes from ballot scanners.
Evidence and Expert Claims
Fulton County submitted a sworn declaration from Ryan Macias, an election-technology and security consultant who advised the county in 2020, saying the affidavit contains "a multitude of false or misleading statements and omissions" and offering explanations for the cited deficiencies. County attorneys characterized many alleged problems as routine human errors that do not establish probable cause of criminal conduct.
"The seizure of documents was improper and unjustified," Fulton County lawyers wrote, warning of federal overreach into local election administration.
Federal prosecutors counter that preparing a detailed affidavit and presenting it to a judge is not a "callous" act and that the affidavit was reviewed by a federal magistrate, who approved the search warrant. Justice Department lawyers also argued that statute-of-limitations concerns do not negate probable cause.
Fulton County had sought to subpoena the FBI agent who prepared the affidavit to testify at the hearing; the Justice Department objected and the judge quashed the subpoena.
Next Steps: The hearing will allow both sides to argue legal and constitutional issues about the seizure, including whether the FBI had a lawful basis to take and retain election materials and whether those materials should be returned to the county.
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