Fulton County Demands Back Its Seized 2020 Ballots

Fulton County officials filed a motion in a Georgia court to reclaim election records seized by federal agents in January at a Georgia election office.

The motion filed by county officials under seal in a federal court in Georgia on Wednesday seeks the return of the election records taken by agents at a warehouse in Fulton County, according to The Washington Post.

🚨 BREAKING: Fulton County officials filed a court motion to reclaim the 2020 ballots seized by the FBI.pic.twitter.com/DqfYxgbLGv

— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) February 4, 2026

The officials also requested the judge unseal the investigative affidavit that federal agents submitted to secure a search warrant, Rob Pitts — Fulton County board of commissioners chairman — said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: FBI Reportedly Conducts Election Office Search Tied To 2020 Election)

A news conference was held Wednesday.

Agents spent several hours on Jan. 28 at the warehouse, and they left with an estimated 700 boxes of records, according to county elections chief Sherri Allen.

Both Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Deputy Director Andrew Bailey were present throughout the search.

In a letter to top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees — Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes— Gabbard wrote she was present in Georgia only briefly, adding that her trip “was requested by the president and executed under her broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security.” (RELATED: Trump Pushes GOP To ‘Take Over The Voting’ In ‘Crooked’ States)

Contrary to the blatantly false and slanderous accusations being made against me by Members of Congress and their friends in the propaganda media, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has and will continue to take action under my statutory authorities to secure our… pic.twitter.com/eX4Kdnp8oU

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) February 3, 2026

Gabbard wrote that she met with the FBI agents at the bureau’s Atlanta field office, where she “facilitated a brief phone call for the president to thank the agents personally for their work,” adding that President Donald Trump “did not ask any questions, nor did he or I issue any directives.”

After news of the director’s participation broke, Warner and Himes demanded she partake in an “immediate” briefing, writing that Gabbard’s “recent actions raise foundational questions about the current mission of your office.”

Hey Capitol Hill press corps,@MarkWarner is lying to you. Do you plan to call out ANY of his false statements?

The truth: ODNI has processed and addressed every item of correspondence received from his office. To date, all of his six letters have been processed:

-3 formal… pic.twitter.com/SCsVixEOV1

— Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) February 3, 2026

In December, Fulton County acknowledged that around 315,000 early-voting ballots during the 2020 presidential election lacked necessary poll-worker signatures on tabulation tapes. (RELATED: ROOKE: Sen. Mark Warner’s Attack On DNI Election Raid Falls Flat)

The county includes a majority of Atlanta, and it voted for former President Joe Biden by a large margin in the 2020 election, leading to his victory in Georgia.

The ballots were reportedly included in Fulton County’s vote totals and transmitted to the state where they were certified for the official election results.

The FBI told the Daily Caller it had no comment on reports that Fulton County officials filed a legal challenge.

The Caller reached out to Fulton County officials for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.