{"id":1221,"date":"2026-05-07T10:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:44:19","slug":"justice-department-can-keep-2020-election-ballots-seized-from-georgias-fulton-county-judge-rules-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1221","title":{"rendered":"Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia\u2019s Fulton County, judge rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By KATE BRUMBACK<\/strong><\/p>\n

ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 The federal government can keep the 2020 election ballots from Georgia\u2019s Fulton County that were seized by the FBI from a warehouse near Atlanta, a judge ruled Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Feds, LA police target MacArthur Park drug dealers in major bust, arresting 18 suspects and seizing fentanyl, other narcotics<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee\u2019s decision came after lawyers for the county had argued that the ballots and other election materials, as well as any electronic copies the Justice Department has made, should be returned because the seizure was improper and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

The Jan. 28 seizure by the FBI targeted the elections hub in Georgia\u2019s 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 the 2020 election.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department has said it is investigating \u201cirregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the County\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Georgia\u2019s votes in the 2020 presidential race were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Democrat Joe Biden\u2019s win.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seizure in this case was certainly not perfect,\u201d Boulee wrote in his 68-page ruling. But he went on to say that Fulton County did not establish that its rights were callously disregarded \u201ceither through the lack of probable cause, omissions in the Affidavit or by the manner of the execution of the seizure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The county also failed to show that it needs the documents or will be irreparably harmed if they are not returned, he wrote, noting this is particularly true because the Justice Department has given the county copies of the documents.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Representatives for Fulton County and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the ruling Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n

Read more California governor candidates spar over immigration, taxes and more in CNN debate<\/a><\/p>\n

Months after the January seizure of ballots and other election materials, the Justice Department in April obtained a grand jury subpoena for the names and personal contact information of Fulton County employees and volunteers involved in the 2020 election. Fulton County filed a motion Monday to quash that subpoena, arguing that it is overbroad and meant to harass the president\u2019s political opponents.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has also taken moves to obtain past election records from other critical swing states. The FBI used a subpoena in March to get records related to an audit of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County in Arizona. And the Justice Department in April demanded that Michigan\u2019s Wayne County turn over its ballots from the 2024 election.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department is also 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.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Democrats have raised concerns that the Trump administration is weaponizing federal law enforcement to pursue the president\u2019s personal grievances and is planning ways to interfere in this year\u2019s midterm elections. The Trump administration has said it is looking into allegations of past problems and seeking to protect future elections.<\/p>\n

During a March 27 hearing on Fulton County\u2019s demand that the FBI return its ballots and other materials, lawyers for the county argued that the seizure was improper and unjustified and demonstrated \u201ccallous disregard\u201d for the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. They suggested that the Trump administration decided to use a criminal search warrant to get the materials because it got tired of waiting for the outcome of civil litigation the Justice Department filed to obtain them last year.<\/p>\n

Justice Department attorneys argued that they took the appropriate steps to get a warrant and then take the documents. They said it is not uncommon for parallel civil and criminal investigations to be going on at the same time.<\/p>\n

Read more New poll on California governor\u2019s race shows Xavier Becerra catching up with Steve Hilton<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawyers for the county had argued that the ballots and other election materials should be returned because the seizure was improper and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-verified-news"],"yoast_head":"\nJustice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia\u2019s Fulton County, judge rules - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=1221\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia\u2019s Fulton County, judge rules - 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