Georgia’s Fulton County will ask a federal judge on Friday to order the return of 2020 election ballots the FBI seized as it investigates claims by Republican President Donald Trump that his electoral defeat that year was the result of widespread voter fraud.
The hearing in Atlanta federal court is expected to examine the evidence behind the FBI's seizure of more than 600 boxes of election ballots during its January 28 search of Fulton County’s election center.
The search of the facility, attended by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, involves U.S. law enforcement and intelligence authorities reexamining his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump has argued that his defeat in 2020 was affected by voter fraud and has raised concerns about the security of U.S. elections ahead of the November midterm elections.
Lawyers for Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, have challenged the search in court, saying it showed a “callous disregard” of the county’s rights under the U.S. Constitution and was based on allegations they say have been previously investigated.
“Despite years of investigations of the 2020 election," the FBI had not “identified facts that establish probable cause that anyone committed a crime," lawyers for Fulton County wrote in a court filing.
Atlanta-based U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee agreed to hear evidence at Friday’s hearing about the search, but denied Fulton County’s request to put the FBI agent who drafted the affidavit supporting the warrant on the witness stand.
The Justice Department has accused Fulton County officials of seeking to disrupt an active investigation and argued that the county should not be able to override a magistrate judge’s determination that the search was legally justified.
FBI agents seized a large volume of material related to the 2020 election from the election center in Union City, Georgia, including original 2020 ballots.
Authorities cited alleged “deficiencies or defects” with the 2020 vote, including claims that some digital images of ballots were missing and some absentee ballots did not appear to have been folded as required.
The investigation began with a referral from Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who supported Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results and has since been tasked by the White House with reexamining the vote.
Prosecutors cited potential violations of a records retention law and a law that criminalizes attempts to deprive or defraud residents of a fair election.
Lawyers for Fulton County have said in court filings that witnesses interviewed by the FBI, including Republican members of the Georgia State Election Board, should not be considered credible. They say some claims reflect misunderstandings of election procedures, while others may be explained by administrative or procedural factors.
Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold in a state that has become highly competitive in presidential elections, became a focal point of fraud-related claims following the 2020 election.
Biden’s margin in Fulton County was key to flipping Georgia in Democrats’ favor. The state swung back to Trump in 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
© 2026 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.