Federal Agents Seize Ballots in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan

The Story

According to a Wired report, federal agents have seized ballots from the 2020 and 2024 elections in Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan since January. Experts quoted in the article express concern that the actions may set a precedent for challenging election outcomes after the midterms. The Justice Department stated it is committed to upholding the integrity of the electoral system.

Key Facts

• FBI agents raided a Fulton County, Georgia election facility in January, seizing 600 boxes of 2020 ballots.
• In March, the DOJ obtained ballot images from the 2020 election in Maricopa County, Arizona, and demanded ballots from the 2024 election in Wayne County, Michigan.
• A Republican sheriff in California obtained a warrant in March to seize about 650,000 ballots from a statewide redistricting election.
• The Fulton County warrant was initiated by White House adviser Kurt Olsen and sought by a US attorney in Missouri, not Georgia.
• Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accompanied the FBI during the Fulton County raid.
• The affidavit for the Fulton County warrant relied on a report from an election conspiracy group; a nonpartisan nonprofit said the report contains “no legitimate conclusions” and that claims had been debunked in prior audits.
• Fulton County officials accused the DOJ of misleading the magistrate judge and not disclosing that the claims were previously investigated.
• Ballots from the 2020 election would normally have been destroyed after 22 to 24 months, but were under civil litigation.
• In Maricopa County, the FBI seized more than three dozen hard drives and servers containing digital ballot images from a controversial 2021 audit.
• Experts quoted say digital ballot images may lack integrity because they could have been altered.

Conflicting Reports

The article presents the DOJ’s stated commitment to election integrity alongside criticism from election experts and county officials who say the seizures are politically motivated and procedurally irregular. Fulton County officials accuse the DOJ of misleading the judge; the DOJ did not directly address that accusation in the article.

Still Unclear

The article does not specify what alleged fraud the DOJ is investigating or what will happen to the seized ballots. It also does not explain why the DOJ launched a criminal case in Georgia rather than waiting for ongoing civil litigation.

Misconceptions

The article addresses the misconception that original ballot seizures are routine. It notes that the Civil Rights Act allows inspection and copies, not seizure of original ballots, and that experts say such seizures are not the least intrusive measure.

Key Figures

• Gowri Ramachandran, director of elections and security at the Brennan Center for Justice
• Anna Baldwin, director of voting rights litigation at Campaign Legal Center
• Kurt Olsen, lawyer and White House adviser
• Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence
• Brad Raffensperger, Georgia secretary of state
• A Republican sheriff in California (name not provided)
• A Justice Department spokesperson (unnamed)

Sources: Wired