politics
How the MAGA-ified Georgia elections board gave Trump a blueprint for seizing Atlanta’s 2020 ballots
For most election administrators around the country, the FBI’s recent seizure of 2020 Atlanta-area ballots was shocking. But for some members of the Georgia State Election Board, the search was a welcome development.
TL;DR
- The Georgia State Election Board, with a conservative majority, has been actively pursuing theories of election fraud related to the 2020 presidential election.
- Board members, including Janice Johnston and Janelle King, who are proponents of election denial, were cited by the FBI in its application to seize 2020 Atlanta-area ballots.
- The board had previously subpoenaed Fulton County election records and sought assistance from the Justice Department, which preceded the FBI's search warrant.
- Members of the board, including Johnston and King, welcomed the FBI's seizure of ballots, viewing it as a necessary investigation into alleged irregularities.
- Fulton County has filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the seized materials and is pursuing mediation with the Justice Department.
- Kurt Olsen, a prominent election denier now in the federal government, made the referral that launched the Fulton County probe.
- The FBI's warrant application was based on claims of election irregularities, though reviews by state authorities found them to be administrative errors, not malfeasance.