Judge Allows DOJ to Keep 2020 Ballots Seized from Georgia’s Fulton County Despite Constitutional Challenges

The Justice Department scored a legal win Wednesday when a federal judge ruled it can keep the 2020 election ballots seized from Fulton County, Georgia, despite the county’s claims that the seizure violated constitutional protections.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee’s 68-page decision came after Fulton County lawyers argued the FBI raid on a warehouse near Atlanta was improper and unconstitutional. The county demanded the return of ballots, election materials, and any electronic copies made by the government. But Judge Boulee found that while the seizure “was certainly not perfect,” Fulton County failed to prove its rights were disregarded or that it would suffer irreparable harm if the materials remained in federal hands.

Fulton County, the state’s most populous and heavily Democratic county, has been a focal point for former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 presidential race. The ballots seized were from the very election that multiple recounts, including hand counts, confirmed Joe Biden won.

The Justice Department says it is investigating “irregularities” in the 2020 election in Fulton County, citing laws that require election records to be kept for 22 months and prohibit fraudulent ballots. Critics argue this investigation is a thinly veiled effort to legitimize Trump’s long-debunked election lies and intimidate election officials.

The seizure is part of a broader pattern of aggressive federal actions in swing states. The FBI subpoenaed election records in Arizona’s Maricopa County and demanded ballots from Michigan’s Wayne County for the 2024 election. The Justice Department is also battling states over voter data access, raising privacy and legal concerns.

Fulton County recently moved to quash a grand jury subpoena seeking personal information on 2020 election workers, calling it an overbroad attempt to harass political opponents of Trump. Democrats warn these federal probes are part of a disturbing effort by the Trump administration to weaponize law enforcement to undermine democracy and interfere with elections.

While the Justice Department claims it aims to protect election integrity, the targeting of Democratic counties and election officials undercuts public trust and raises urgent questions about the abuse of federal power for political ends. The ruling in Fulton County is another chapter in the ongoing battle over the 2020 election’s legitimacy and the future of American democracy.