The US Justice Department under former President Donald Trump has demanded that officials in Georgia’s Fulton County hand over records tied to the 2020 election, reigniting baseless claims of voter fraud long discredited by investigators. The request, made in an October 30 letter, signals a renewed push by the administration to revisit one of Trump’s most infamous falsehoods—that the election he lost was stolen. Legal experts warn the move stretches federal authority and risks politicizing the department’s oversight role.
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Justice Department’s New Demand
The Justice Department’s civil rights division sent a letter to Fulton County election officials demanding access to records from the 2020 presidential election. The request includes documents related to voter lists, chain of custody forms, ballot images, security seals, and ballot scanner paperwork. The letter, first obtained by the Guardian, follows a series of subpoenas issued last year by Georgia’s state election board after it voted to reopen investigations despite no evidence of wrongdoing.
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Citing Transparency Concerns
Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump ally now leading the department’s civil rights division, wrote in the letter that “transparency seems to have been frustrated at multiple turns in Georgia.” She said the voting section had received complaints from “voter transparency advocates” alleging “multiple instances of government obstruction,” including withheld ballot scans and signature verification data. Dhillon asked Fulton County to hand over the requested records within 15 days. The department declined to comment further beyond what was written in the letter.
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Fulton County’s Prior Clearance
Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, was repeatedly cleared of wrongdoing by both state and federal investigators after the 2020 election. Yet, a Republican-led majority on the state election board voted last year to reopen the probe, aligning with Trump’s ongoing claims of election fraud. On the night of the 2024 election, the board authorized subpoenas for a wide array of documents and later urged the Justice Department to assist in enforcing them.
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Broader Federal Push on Voter Data
The request to Georgia comes amid a nationwide effort by the Trump administration’s Justice Department to collect voter roll information from 40 states. It has already filed lawsuits against eight states that refused to comply. The White House has also brought on controversial figures such as lawyer Kurt Olsen, who worked to overturn the 2020 results, and Heather Honey, whose misleading research fueled election skepticism, to oversee election-related roles in federal agencies.
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Legal Basis Questioned
To justify the request, the department cited the Civil Rights Act, which mandates the retention of election records for 22 months after a federal election and allows the attorney general to access them. However, that period has long expired since the 2020 election. The department also referenced the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act as additional grounds for its demand, though legal scholars have raised doubts about their applicability.
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Experts Call It Overreach
Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor, questioned the Justice Department’s justification. He noted that the department must provide a “basis” for requesting records under federal law. “In DoJ’s letter, I see a purpose: we want to check up on what you did,” Levitt said. “But the letter just cites a general swath of federal statutes without saying anything about why there’s a basis to believe that the records they’re seeking will shed light on a federal statutory violation. DoJ doesn’t just get to go fishing because it’s curious.”
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Renewed Echo of Election Denial
The Justice Department’s move underscores Trump’s enduring fixation on disproven election claims. By invoking outdated legal provisions and installing loyalists in key positions, the administration appears determined to legitimize narratives that courts, audits, and bipartisan investigations have repeatedly debunked. Critics say the latest action could set a dangerous precedent for politicized interference in state-run elections.