The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against Georgia’s Fulton County, demanding access to 2020 presidential election ballots and related materials, as part of the president’s ongoing effort to contest the outcome of that race.
Filed by the Justice Department, the lawsuit seeks “all used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files” from the 2020 general election in the county. It accuses local officials of violating the Civil Rights Act after they refused to produce the sealed ballots without a court order.
The move follows a subpoena issued to Fulton County election officials in October, which cited the need to investigate “compliance with federal election law.” In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon asserted that the Justice Department “will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws.” Fulton County has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
Georgia, which President Joe Biden narrowly won in 2020, has been a focal point of Trump’s post-election challenges. In a now-infamous phone call, Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes”—one more than Biden’s margin of victory. Raffensperger’s office upheld the results after multiple reviews.
Fulton County was also where Trump was criminally charged in 2023 with racketeering for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia’s election results. That case, brought by prosecutor Fani Willis, was dismissed earlier this month following procedural setbacks and the political complications arising from Trump’s return to the White House.
The new lawsuit signals a continued legal and political battle over the 2020 election, even as numerous courts have previously rejected claims of widespread fraud brought by Trump and his allies.
By James Kisoo
