Georgia's Fulton County challenges seizure of election records

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fulton County, Georgia on Wednesday challenged the legality of a warrant and seizure of election records in an FBI search of an election facility last week, seeking the return of all files that were confiscated, a county spokesperson said.

The FBI searched the election office outside Atlanta last week as it pursues US President Donald Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread voting fraud.

The raid was the latest in a string of actions by Trump's administration to use the Justice Department against his perceived enemies or to intervene in cases where he believes he was treated unfairly.

The county asked a federal court to limit the warrant to provide an opportunity for a forensic accounting of all the documents and to request they stay in Georgia, Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. told Reuters in an interview, adding that ideally he would like all records returned.

"Frankly, though, it's really too late," he said. "Even if they give us the records back, we still don't know if they lost records or deleted records because there was no inventory, there was no orderly transition of these files."

FBI agents last week searched the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center in Union City, a large, warehouse-like facility opened in 2023.

According to a copy of the search warrant seen by Reuters, the FBI was directed to seize all physical ballots from the 2020 general election in Fulton County as well as tabulator tapes for every voting machine used and voter rolls from absentee, early voting, in-person and other voters.

Joe Biden, a Democrat, won Georgia and defeated Trump, a Republican who was seeking reelection in 2020.

Trump returned to the presidency for a second term last year after winning the 2024 election.

The seizure of the records comes ahead of November's midterm elections when Republicans will try to defend their congressional majorities.