A federal judge in Georgia has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Fulton County election officials seeking to force the return of thousands of absentee ballots seized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in January, ruling that the county had not proven the government acted with “callous disregard” in handling the materials. The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg on Wednesday, marks the latest legal setback for election officials who had argued the DOJ’s retention of the ballots—collected during a 2020 audit of Georgia’s voting systems—violated constitutional protections and county property rights.
The lawsuit, filed in April 2023 by Fulton County, centered on approximately 11,000 ballots that had been removed from storage facilities in Cobb and Fulton counties as part of a DOJ-led investigation into potential irregularities in the 2020 presidential election. The county argued that the DOJ’s prolonged retention of the ballots, which included sensitive voter information, constituted an unconstitutional seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Judge Totenberg, however, rejected this framing, stating in her 23-page ruling that the DOJ’s actions were “reasonable and lawful” under the circumstances, particularly given the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The DOJ’s intervention in Georgia’s election processes stems from a broader, years-long effort to scrutinize voting procedures in key battleground states following the 2020 election. The agency’s work in Georgia was initially authorized by a federal court order in December 2021, which permitted the review of voting machines and ballots in four counties—Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, and DeKalb—as part of a civil rights investigation. While the DOJ’s actions were framed as an effort to ensure election integrity, critics, including Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates, have characterized the probes as politically motivated overreach, particularly given the lack of public charges or indictments resulting from the audits.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office had previously collaborated with the DOJ on election-related matters, had not publicly commented on the ruling as of Thursday. However, county officials had previously framed the lawsuit as a matter of principle, arguing that the DOJ’s seizure of ballots without a warrant or clear legal justification set a dangerous precedent for local governance. “The federal government cannot unilaterally take possession of a county’s property, especially when that property contains sensitive voter information,” a spokesman for the county had stated in a filing ahead of the hearing.
The DOJ’s retention of the ballots had also drawn scrutiny from Georgia’s Republican-led legislature, which passed a resolution in March 2023 condemning the federal government’s actions as an “unjustified intrusion” into state affairs. The resolution, introduced by State Senator Mike Dugan, called for the immediate return of all seized materials and accused the DOJ of engaging in a “fishing expedition” to undermine public trust in elections. The legislature’s stance reflected broader partisan divisions over election security, with Republicans frequently accusing federal agencies of overreach while Democrats have defended the DOJ’s actions as necessary to prevent voter suppression.
Judge Totenberg’s ruling does not preclude Fulton County from pursuing further legal avenues, though her dismissal of the core constitutional claims significantly narrows the county’s options. Legal experts consulted by world-today-news noted that the decision aligns with a broader judicial trend of deferring to federal agencies in matters of national security and election integrity, even when local governments dispute the legality of their actions. “Courts have been reluctant to second-guess federal investigations, particularly when they involve potential violations of civil rights laws,” said one constitutional law professor at Emory University, who requested anonymity to discuss the case.
The DOJ has not yet indicated whether it will return the ballots to Fulton County. In a statement provided to world-today-news, a spokesperson for the agency declined to comment on pending litigation but reiterated that the investigation remains “ongoing and subject to legal process.” The absence of a clear timeline for the DOJ’s next steps—whether returning the ballots, filing charges, or concluding the investigation—leaves Fulton County officials and voting rights advocates in a state of uncertainty. The county’s next legal move, if any, is expected to be closely watched by election law practitioners across the country, as the case could set precedents for future disputes over federal-state jurisdiction in election matters.
