NAACP asks judge to curb federal use of seized Georgia voter data

NAACP and allies seek court limits on FBI-held Fulton County voter data

The NAACP and other civil-rights organizations asked a federal judge to curb how the federal government uses personal voter information seized by FBI agents from a Fulton County elections warehouse near Atlanta, according to a motion filed late Sunday.

In the filing, the groups said Georgia residents entrusted the state with “sensitive personal information” when they registered to vote, and that the Jan. 28 seizure of ballots and other election documents from the Fulton County elections hub “breached that guarantee, infringed constitutional protections of privacy, and interfered with the right to vote.” The motion urged the judge to impose restrictions aimed at reducing the risk that the data could be used beyond the scope of the criminal investigation described in the search warrant affidavit.

The motion asked the judge to “order reasonable limits on the government’s use of the seized data” and to prohibit the government from using the information for purposes other than the criminal investigation cited in the warrant. The groups said those prohibited purposes include efforts tied to voter roll maintenance, election administration, and immigration enforcement.

Beyond limiting use, the groups also sought disclosure obligations. Their motion asked the judge to order the government to provide an inventory of the documents and records seized, identify anyone who accessed the records outside of those involved in the criminal investigation, disclose any copying of the records, and describe steps taken to secure the information.

The Department of Justice had not immediately responded Monday to a request for comment about the motion, according to the report of the filing.

FBI agents arrived at the elections hub south of Atlanta with a search warrant seeking materials tied to the 2020 election in Fulton County. The warrant included ballots, tabulator tapes from the scanners that tally votes, electronic ballot images created after ballots were counted and recounted, and voter rolls, the report said.

The county separately filed a motion seeking the return of the seized materials. The dispute has unfolded as President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised claims about fraud in the 2020 election in Fulton County without offering evidence, the report said, and has focused on that issue publicly.

The report said an FBI agent’s affidavit presented to a magistrate judge described the criminal investigation as beginning with a referral from Kurt Olsen, who advised Trump as he sought to overturn his 2020 election loss and now serves as Trump’s “director of election security and integrity,” with a mission that includes investigating Trump’s loss.