Georgia’s Fulton County heads to court to seek return of 2020 ballots seized by FBI

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) 2026-03-27T04:12:17Z ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge plans to hear arguments Friday on a demand by officials in Georgia’s Fulton County that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election.

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.

The Jan. 28 seizure from a warehouse 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 center of unfounded claims by President Donald Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him reelection.

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 is planning ways to interfere in this year’s midterm elections The FBI also used a subpoena earlier this month to obtain records related to a controversial audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona, another battleground state Trump lost that year .

At the same time, the Justice Department is fighting numerous states in court for access to voter data that 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 ident

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