Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said county officials cannot be certain that private voter information remains safe following an FBI raid at the county’s elections hub in South Fulton.
During a Thursday press conference, Pitts addressed the execution of a criminal search warrant seeking ballots from the 2020 presidential election. He said county attorneys advised him to comply with the warrant.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the FBI was executing a criminal warrant issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine Salinas.
Pitts said the warrant was carried out from just after 12 p.m. Wednesday until about 9 p.m., during which approximately 700 boxes of physical ballots were removed from the facility.
He said he believes the raid is an effort to take control of Fulton’s election operations.
“We in Fulton County have nothing, nothing, nothing to hide,” Pitts said. “This is by no means over. Any honest review of these files will show that every previous review has shown Fulton County elections are fair and lawful. And the outcome of the 2020 election will not change.”
Pitts said the ballots were “safe and secure” while in the county’s possession, but raised concerns about what happens now that the materials are no longer under county control, including the potential exposure of private voter information.
He said he was not allowed into the elections hub while the search warrant was being executed.
Pitts also said he has been told unofficially that he may be a target of the investigation, but he has not received confirmation or additional details.
“I believe I am a target,” Pitts said. “…We will not give one inch to those that seek to take control of our elections. We will fight in court with every resource that we have.”
Fulton County elections official Sherri Allen said that since the 2020 presidential election, the county has conducted 17 elections without incident or major problems.
Fulton County Commissioner Moe Ivory had also criticized the raid, saying she believes it was intended to intimidate election officials and undermine public confidence in the election process.
Ivory described the FBI action as a “scare tactic,” saying it appears designed to “create fear and chaos in the elections process.”
