Legal experts are parsing a rare FBI search at Fulton County’s main election facility after agents executed a warrant and seized ballots and records tied to the 2020 presidential election.
The search puts renewed focus on Fulton County, long a flashpoint in disputes over election administration and security following President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread irregularities there. While state and federal officials have defended Georgia’s certified results, concerns about chain of custody, transparency and compliance with records requests have persisted among critics.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, said he was surprised a magistrate judge approved the warrant, pointing to repeated public assurances by Republican leaders in Georgia that the outcome was accurate. Those officials include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kreis noted that Georgia conducted multiple counts of the 2020 vote that produced consistent totals. He argued that the repeated recounts leave little reason to question the final tally, even as skeptics continue to cite administrative lapses and uneven practices across states during the pandemic election.
Fulton County’s handling of election materials has drawn scrutiny before. Federal authorities have sued the county seeking access to records, alleging the clerk of courts failed to respond to requests. The existence of a warrant, Kreis said, does not itself signal criminal wrongdoing, since judges apply a relatively low threshold when authorizing searches.
According to the warrant, agents sought physical ballots from 2020, tabulator tapes, ballot images and the county’s full voter roll from that election. Kreis said those materials are considered highly sensitive and are typically guarded closely, even when federal investigators come calling.
Trump’s post-election phone call to Raffensperger later became a central piece of a racketeering case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. That prosecution ultimately collapsed.
Late Wednesday, Trump continued posting on Truth Social, again arguing the 2020 election was stolen and pointing to actions like the FBI search as proof that more questions remain unanswered. State and federal reviews have stood by the certified results, but the renewed law enforcement activity is likely to fuel ongoing debate over how securely the election was conducted and how transparently the records have been handled.
