Lawmakers praise, rebuke affidavit used to justify Fulton County election raid

Revelations from an unsealed affidavit used to justify an unexpected FBI raid on Fulton County’s elections hub quickly reverberated through Georgia’s political ecosystem, which is gearing up for a contentious series of statewide elections later this year.  The day after a federal court unsealed the document, lawmakers at Georgia’s state Capitol issued sharp statements of […]

Georgia state Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta speaks during a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Revelations from an unsealed affidavit used to justify an unexpected FBI raid on Fulton County’s elections hub quickly reverberated through Georgia’s political ecosystem, which is gearing up for a contentious series of statewide elections later this year. 

The day after a federal court unsealed the document, lawmakers at Georgia’s state Capitol issued sharp statements of encouragement and rebuke that have largely fallen along party lines.

FBI raid in Fulton County relied on previously investigated 2020 election claims

The raid, which took place on Jan. 28, led to roughly 700 boxes of 2020 election documents being seized by the FBI. The central claims used to justify the raid include allegations of missing ballot images, duplicated ballots, irregularities with tabulator tapes and other issues that have been widely debunked in the more than five years since the election. 

Previous investigations into the 2020 election did not find any merit to the claims of rampant voting fraud or intentional misconduct by Fulton election workers and leadership. 

On Wednesday, Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Cumming Republican who is running for lieutenant governor, publicly called for the State Election Board to take over elections in Fulton County, claiming that the county has failed to properly maintain its voter rolls.

“It’s my personal opinion it’s past time for the state to take over Fulton County elections until they prove that they’re capable of adjudicating our elections in Georgia,” he said.

Under an omnibus election law passed in 2021, the State Election Board has the ability to take over underperforming county election boards. An 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld that section of the law earlier this year.  

However, in 2023, the board rejected a push to take over Fulton County’s election board after finding that the county had made significant improvements by implementing new procedures, and changing leadership.

In an interview Wednesday, Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts dismissed Dolezal’s calls to have the state step in.

“This is election season, and every politician running for office, every would-be politician will have something to say about this issue without any facts whatsoever,” he said. 

Pitts also pledged to continue advocating for the voters of Fulton County, saying his team is “going to fight any effort to take over our elections with everything that we have, every resource that’s at our disposal.”

State Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat and election lawyer, also rebuffed the claims used to justify the FBI’s raid, arguing that the allegations raised in the affidavit have already proved to be baseless.

“These are issues that have been litigated to death in court and have never passed muster,” Draper said. “Honestly, the most telling thing about this affidavit is that after more than five years to find evidence of fraud, a rehash of baseless election denier talking points was all the federal government could come up with.”

Salleigh Grubbs, a newly appointed member of the State Election Board and a top Georgia GOP official, indicated that she would be open to gaining more information about past irregularities in Fulton County’s elections, but did not commit to pushing for a takeover of the county’s election operations Wednesday.

Georgia GOP official and elections activist named to State Election Board

“I believe it is way past time to have answers from Fulton County as to the inconsistencies and the alleged errors,” she said in an emailed statement, adding that whether the State Election Board decides to step in will depend on the outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice’s findings. 

“At this time I believe we are unable to proceed pending the release of the records,” she added.

The State Election Board’s next meeting will be held on Feb. 18 in Winder. The agenda includes an update on a subpoena from the board seeking the same Fulton County election records that were seized during the raid.

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