A federal judge in Georgia has rejected a request from Fulton County officials to recover ballots and other materials related to the 2020 election that were seized by the FBI during a court-sanctioned search earlier this year.

U.S. District Judge Jean-Paul Boulee stated on Wednesday that the legal team representing Fulton County failed to present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the FBI’s affidavit, which is central to the case, showed a “callous disregard” for the county’s rights.

Although Judge Boulee acknowledged that the affidavit contained “defective” elements, including misleading information regarding the final ballot count in the county and omissions about ballot handling processes, he concluded that these flaws did not meet the threshold for a disregard of rights. He noted, “While the Affidavit was certainly far from perfect, this is not a situation where an officer left out all the facts that might undermine probable cause or where an officer intentionally lied.” He emphasized that the deficiencies did not rise to the level of “callous disregard.”

This ruling follows an FBI search warrant executed over two months ago at a Fulton County elections office, where agents sought to collect “all physical ballots” from the 2020 election, along with tapes from vote-counting machines, images of ballots, and voter registration records. Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta, played a pivotal role in President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia, while former President Donald Trump and his supporters have made unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the area.

In his 68-page ruling, Judge Boulee recognized that “the seizure in this case was certainly not perfect” and acknowledged the unprecedented nature of the events leading to this case. However, he maintained that he must apply legal precedents related to court-ordered seizures consistently.

The judge dismissed Fulton County’s assertion that the FBI’s seizure infringed upon the county’s 10th Amendment rights concerning election administration. He also rejected claims that the warrant was obtained in “bad faith” following a backlash against the Justice Department in a separate civil case involving the documents.

Judge Boulee stated, “Petitioners have not shown that their rights were callously disregarded either through supposed defects in the warrant or through the manner in which the warrant was executed.” He found the county’s claims of irreparable harm from the non-return of the election materials to be “unpersuasive.”

Legal representatives for Fulton County and officials from the Justice Department did not respond immediately to requests for comments.

Earlier this year, Fulton County filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the confiscated materials, as well as a directive for the government to “maintain, but not review, any copies of the seized materials until this matter is resolved.” The county argued that the search represented a “gross intrusion” into its role in conducting elections and violated multiple Fourth Amendment rights.

The FBI affidavit that prompted the search is part of an investigation into potential violations of two federal statutes. One statute prohibits election officials from intimidating voters or submitting fraudulent ballots or registrations, while the other mandates the retention of federal election records for 22 months.

Abbe Lowell, the attorney representing Fulton County, contended that the statute of limitations for both alleged violations had expired. However, Judge Boulee rejected this claim, citing witness testimony in the affidavit suggesting that ballot images in the county could have been altered as recently as 2024.

During a contentious hearing in March, Lowell asserted that the FBI affidavit did not provide sufficient basis for an ongoing investigation in Fulton County. He warned that the ballots might be used for future crimes that are currently nonexistent.

Lowell also criticized the affidavit, claiming it omitted key information about the election and alleged misconduct by county officials. Ryan Macias, an elections expert and witness for Fulton County, testified that the affidavit contained “incoherent terminology” and suggested that it recycled discredited rumors from over six years prior.

During the hearing, Judge Boulee expressed concern about the Justice Department’s rationale for seizing over 630 boxes of election materials, stating, “that piece bothers me” significantly. He questioned Justice Department attorney Tysen Duva about the affidavit’s shortcomings.

Duva dismissed Lowell’s criticisms as “woefully inadequate” and responded to Boulee’s concerns by stating, “this isn’t grading a paper,” while acknowledging that there were areas in the affidavit that could have been improved. He conceded that the FBI’s seizure might not result in any charges, indicating, “If there is an indictment, that remains to be seen. What may happen later? Maybe nothing.”

Officials in Georgia, including the Republican governor and secretary of state, have consistently defended the integrity of the 2020 election, noting that three separate counts confirmed Biden’s victory over Trump in the state. The election results in Georgia were central to Trump’s attempts to overturn the election outcome, with Fulton County being a key Democratic bastion.

The affidavit indicated that the current investigation originated from a referral…