The FBI raided a Fulton County election warehouse in January 2026, seizing hundreds of boxes of 2020 election materials under federal fraud statutes, spotlighting over 300,000 missing ballot images that could expose double-scanning or improper tabulation in Georgia’s pivotal 2020 vote.
Story Snapshot
- FBI seized 2020 ballots, tabulator tapes, and electronic records from Fulton County under election fraud warrant with DNI Tulsi Gabbard present
- Over 376,863 ballot images missing from first machine count, raising questions about scanner errors, bugs, or intentional deletion
- Fulton County officials filed federal motion to recover documents, calling seizure unexplained and tied to debunked claims
- Trump administration escalates election oversight targeting Democratic strongholds, potentially expanding probes to other 2020 swing states
Federal Raid Targets Missing Digital Evidence
The FBI executed a search warrant at Fulton County’s Election Hub warehouse near Atlanta in late January 2026, removing hundreds of boxes containing 2020 election materials including physical ballots, scanner tabulator tapes, electronic ballot images, and voter registration rolls. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard attended the operation, citing statutory authority for election security intelligence gathering. The warrant invoked federal election fraud statutes, marking an unprecedented escalation beyond previous state-level audits. This federal intervention focuses specifically on digital ballot images—photographs of ballots created during scanning that are legally required for proper audits but were incompletely produced by Fulton County officials.
Over 300,000 Ballot Images Unaccounted For
Researchers and watchdog organizations like VoterGA documented substantial gaps in Fulton County’s digital ballot image production following the 2020 election. Out of 528,776 cast vote records from the first machine count, 376,863 ballot images were missing—representing over 71 percent of ballots cast in the county. The second recount showed 17,852 missing images out of 527,925 records. Entire scanner batches disappeared from official records, including batches 117 and 118 from Scanner 801. These digital artifacts are critical forensic evidence that could definitively prove whether ballots were scanned multiple times or handled improperly, yet county officials failed to produce them despite legal requirements.
County Officials Claim Seizure Politically Motivated
Fulton County filed a federal court motion on February 4, 2026, demanding the return of seized documents and requesting the unsealing of the FBI agent’s affidavit justifying the raid. County spokesperson Jessica Pitts defended their election administration, stating the county has conducted 17 elections since 2020 without issues and that any recount would produce the same results. Officials characterized the seizure as unexplained and rooted in unfounded conspiracy theories despite the documented missing ballot images. The legal battle escalates as President Trump publicly stated his intention to “take over” Democratic-run election operations in approximately 15 jurisdictions, specifically mentioning Fulton County and linking his comments to the SAVE Act requiring citizenship verification.
Technical Analysis Reveals System Vulnerabilities
Academic research published in 2024 analyzed Fulton County’s election data and identified serious concerns with missing ballot images that could result from software errors, bugs, or malware affecting Dominion voting systems. The analysis highlighted that untrustworthy ballot-marking devices undermine audit integrity when critical digital records vanish from official productions. Retired Army Captain Seth, appearing in conservative media analysis, emphasized that the FBI warrant signals a serious investigation where scanner tapes could reveal evidence of double-counting ballots. The technical nature of missing batch files from specific scanners suggests either systematic equipment failure or deliberate manipulation, both of which warrant federal scrutiny to protect election integrity.
Implications for Election Integrity Nationwide
The Fulton County raid could trigger expanded FBI investigations into other 2020 battleground states where similar ballot image discrepancies have been reported, including Clayton, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties in Georgia. Short-term impacts include disruption of county access to historical records and heightened scrutiny of Dominion voting systems used nationwide. Long-term consequences may validate concerns about electronic voting vulnerabilities and prompt federal election reforms. This represents a critical test case for whether digital forensic evidence can definitively resolve lingering questions about 2020 election administration. For Americans who value transparent elections and verifiable vote counting, the absence of legally required ballot images raises legitimate concerns that deserve thorough federal investigation rather than dismissal as conspiracy theories.
Sources:
Georgia’s Fulton County seeks return of 2020 election documents seized by FBI – Los Angeles Times
Missing Ballot Images in Fulton County, Georgia – arXiv
