A US judge has ruled that the federal government can retain the 2020 election ballots from Georgia's Fulton County that were seized by the FBI from a warehouse near Atlanta. The decision by US district judge JP Boulee came after county lawyers argued the seizure was improper and unconstitutional.
The FBI raid on 28 January targeted the elections hub in Georgia's most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of Atlanta. Fulton County has been central to unfounded claims by Donald Trump and his allies that widespread election fraud cost him the 2020 election.
The Justice Department stated it is investigating “irregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the county” and identified two laws that may have been violated: one requiring election records to be retained for 22 months, and another prohibiting procuring, casting or tabulating false or fraudulent ballots.
Georgia's votes were counted three times in 2020, including once by hand, each time confirming Joe Biden's win. In his 68-page ruling, Boulee acknowledged the seizure was “certainly not perfect” but said Fulton County did not establish that its rights were callously disregarded. He also noted the county failed to show it would be irreparably harmed without the documents, especially as the Justice Department has provided copies.
