ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Fulton County for refusing to turn over voter records from the 2020 election, escalating an ongoing legal campaign aimed at forcing state and local officials to disclose sensitive voter roll information to the federal government. The lawsuit, filed in a federal district court […]
U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding that Fulton County turn over its voter records from the 2020 election. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Fulton County for refusing to turn over voter records from the 2020 election, escalating an ongoing legal campaign aimed at forcing state and local officials to disclose sensitive voter roll information to the federal government.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal district court in Atlanta, demanded that Fulton County turn over “all used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files,” from the 2020 election. It also accuses Fulton County Clerk Ché Alexander of violating federal laws for refusing to relinquish the records.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the records were needed to protect U.S. citizens from “vote dilution.”
Trump has long claimed — without evidence — that the 2020 election was stolen in Georgia and other swing states, blaming his loss on unfounded accusations of rampant voting fraud, even though two recounts affirmed former President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia. In an interview with POLITICO published earlier this week, Trump claimed that in the next few months, evidence would emerge to prove that 2020 was “a rigged election.”
Dhillon first requested Fulton County’s 2020 election records in October, following a subpoena over the same records issued by the State Election Board in 2024. In a letter to the Fulton County Board of Election, she argued that the records were needed to “ascertain Georgia’s compliance” with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the 2002 Help America Vote Act.
DOJ is sharing state voter roll lists with Homeland Security
However, Alexander denied Dhillon’s request, according to the lawsuit, stating that the records were under seal and could not be released without a court order. Alexander did not immediately reply to a request for comment Friday.
The Justice Department also filed lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada on Friday to compel the states to turn over their voter registration lists.
The Justice Department has requested voter data from 40 states and filed lawsuits against 18 states that refused to provide the records, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, which is tracking the requests. Officials told Stateline that the records will be shared with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an effort to locate noncitizens on the voting rolls.
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