Civil Rights Groups Seek Limits On FBI Use Of Georgia Voter Data
Civil groups seek a judge order barring federal use of nearly 700 boxes of Georgia ballots and voter rolls seized in the 28 January FBI search.
Overview
The NAACP and allied civil rights groups filed a motion on 15 February asking a federal judge to prohibit the government's misuse of voter information seized by the FBI.
The motion follows an FBI search on 28 January that removed nearly 700 boxes of ballots, tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images and voter rolls from a Fulton County elections warehouse.
Plaintiffs led by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law asked the court to limit use to the criminal investigation, require an inventory and bar uses such as voter-roll maintenance or immigration enforcement.
The filing identifies the NAACP, its Georgia and Atlanta branches, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and some individual members, and notes Justice Department requests for unredacted state voter registration rolls.
Fulton County has separately sought return of the seized materials, and the court must now consider the civil groups’ motion and related requests for disclosure and limits on federal use.
Analysis
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Sources (3)
FAQ
The FBI investigation was initiated by a referral from Kurt Olsen, who is now Trump's 'director of election security and integrity,' and focuses on alleged deficiencies in Fulton County's 2020 election processes, including missing ballot images, ballots scanned multiple times, inconsistent vote counts during audits, and changing vote totals during recounts.[4] However, state investigators have already debunked these claims, finding that individuals who filed complaints used incorrect calculations and records not involved in tallying results.[4]
The seized data reportedly includes full, unredacted voter files containing names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, social security numbers, and other sensitive personal identifiers.[3] Civil rights groups argue that voters provided this information with the expectation it would be used solely for election administration, and that unchecked access exposes them to identity theft, security breaches, and other misuse.[3]
Legal experts warn the seizure represents an extraordinary and dangerous federal intervention in state-run election infrastructure and marks a significant escalation in democratic norm-breaking.[5] The action has triggered fears of federal interference in current and future elections, with critics arguing it represents Trump's obsession with the 2020 election loss and an effort to expand federal control over historically state-managed election systems.
The NAACP's motion asks the judge to impose reasonable limits on government use of the seized data, restrict use to the criminal investigation cited in the search warrant, and prohibit use for voter roll maintenance, election administration, or immigration enforcement.[1] The groups also requested that the court order the government to disclose an inventory of all seized documents, identify anyone who accessed the records outside the investigation, and detail all copying and security efforts.[1]
The search results indicate the Justice Department has been seeking unredacted state voter registration rolls and has sued at least 23 states and the District of Columbia to obtain detailed voter information.[2] However, the specific stated purpose for these requests is not detailed in the available sources, though they appear related to the Trump administration's stated mission regarding election security investigations.
History
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