FBI executes search warrant in Georgia for 2020 election ballots, as Trump seeks to find already debunked voter fraud

The FBI searched Fulton County’s elections warehouse seeking 2020 ballots as Trump renews fraud claims long dismissed by courts. Photo / 123RF

The FBI executed a search warrant on the elections warehouse of Georgia’s most populous county today seeking ballots from the 2020 election, the latest apparent move in United States President Donald Trump’s campaign to find widespread voter fraud from that election despite five years of debunked claims and dozens of dismissed court cases.

An agency spokesperson confirmed its agents were executing a court-authorised law enforcement action at the Fulton County elections warehouse but declined to provide more details. Fulton County Clerk of Courts Che Alexander told the Washington Post that agents were seeking 2020 ballots.

The warrant sought “election related records from 2020 tied to allegations of voter fraud”, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss non-public details of the investigation.

In December, the Justice Department sued Fulton County and said it needed to investigate “compliance with federal election law”. The lawsuit demanded election officials turn over “all used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files from the 2020 General Election in Fulton County”.

It is unclear whether today’s action is connected to that lawsuit. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta and more than one million residents, became the national epicentre of baseless election fraud allegations in January 2021.

That’s when Trump, on a phone call, tried to persuade Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (Republican) to “find” enough votes to reverse Joe Biden’s win in the state.

“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump told Raffensperger. “Because we won the state.”

Disagreement about the result and administration of the 2020 election in Georgia – and specifically Fulton County – has continued.

A Georgia grand jury indicted Trump and associates on racketeering charges in August 2023 over their alleged efforts to overturn election results. But the case was quickly subsumed by allegations that the lead prosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, had an inappropriate relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The case was dismissed once a new prosecutor took over the matter. In response to the dismissal, Trump vowed on social media to “hold responsible” those who perpetuated the “Witch Hunt” against him.

The MAGA movement has long been interested in the Fulton County mail ballots in part because they are still in storage – the ballots are usually required to be kept for 22 months, but a Georgia judge ordered them indefinitely preserved during ongoing litigation.

Last week, Trump again asserted that the 2020 election had been rigged during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“People will soon be prosecuted for what they did,” he said. “That’s probably breaking news.”

It was unclear whether his remarks were related to the search warrant executed today.

- Amy B Wang contributed to this report.

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