Overview
- U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ruled Wednesday that the Justice Department can keep more than 600 boxes of 2020 Fulton County ballots the FBI seized in January.
- The judge said the county did not meet the high legal bar to force a return of the records, even as he called parts of the FBI’s warrant affidavit “problematic” and “troubling.”
- Fulton County moved Monday to quash a separate grand jury subpoena that seeks the names, home and email addresses, and phone numbers of everyone who worked the county’s 2020 election.
- County lawyers argue the demand is overbroad, risks harassment, and cannot lead to charges because key deadlines have likely passed, and they question why records were directed to an out-of-district prosecutor rather than the grand jury.
- The Justice Department says it is investigating 2020 election “irregularities” in the county and has cited possible violations involving record retention and fraudulent ballots, while officials and voting-rights groups warn that mass disclosure of worker data could intensify threats and deter future poll workers.