DOJ Accuses Fulton County of Violating Federal Law by Withholding 2020 Election Records

By Michael Katz | Friday, 12 December 2025 05:19 PM EST

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta alleging that Fulton County, Georgia, failed to produce copies of ballots from the 2020 election. The complaint also seeks absentee ballot signature envelopes and digital files from that election.

The DOJ accuses Che Alexander, the clerk of Fulton County Superior Court, of violating federal law by not producing these documents, which are under seal by court order.

President Donald Trump lost Georgia to Joe Biden by 11,779 votes and has maintained that voter fraud cost him the state’s 16 electoral votes. The DOJ’s action coincided with its Civil Rights Division filing federal lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nevada for failure to produce their statewide voter registration lists upon request.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, stated in a statement: “States have the statutory duty to preserve and protect their constituents from vote dilution. At this Department of Justice, we will not permit states to jeopardize the integrity and effectiveness of elections by refusing to abide by our federal elections laws. If states will not fulfill their duty to protect the integrity of the ballot, we will.”

The Fulton County lawsuit argues that the DOJ needs the ballots and other records to determine whether the county complied with federal election laws. It seeks a court order declaring Fulton County has violated federal law by not producing the records and requiring the county to turn them over.

Alexander declined to comment on Friday.

Last year, the State Election Board subpoenaed the ballots and other documents, but that dispute remains tied up in court. The board later sought the DOJ’s assistance and, in October 2024, requested the ballots and other election materials from the county.

Fulton County responded that the ballots are under seal and a court order would be required to unseal them.

The board reprimanded Fulton County in May 2024 for double-scanning at least 3,000 ballots during a 2020 election recount. Critics have sought more answers about how the error occurred, and the board revived its inquiry after a conservative majority took control of the state.

Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, a Democrat, criticized the continued focus on the 2020 election: “I don’t know how loudly I can say it. The 2020 elections are over,” he said. “Why does this crowd continue to focus on this? I’ll never understand.”