ATLANTA — A federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s request for the names and personal contact information for everyone who worked during the 2020 election in Fulton County.
The DOJ made the request in April for information about all county employees and volunteer poll workers. Fulton County asked a judge to quash the subpoena, arguing it was was too broad and “untethered to any reasonable need.”
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Ray ruled in favor of the county’s request.
“Given the low need for the subpoenaed information and the highly burdensome nature of the disclosure of the same, the Subpoena is unreasonable and must be quashed,” Ray wrote in his ruling.
Channel 2’s Jorge Estevez spoke with a Georgia State University constitutional law professor about the ruling.
“Very strong language in his order that says this is protection going forward,” Professor Clark Cunningham said.
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The request followed a search warrant from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in January at Fulton County’s election hub in Palmetto. The FBI seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. The county has been fighting to get the documents back.
“We are proud of our efforts to push back against these improper demands that only serve to undermine confidence in our elections,” Fulton County Attorney Soo Jo said in a statement regarding Tuesday’s ruling.
The DOJ has not issued a statement regarding the judge’s order. Channel 2 Action News has reached out for a response.
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