DOJ can’t subpoena Fulton County election workers’ information, Trump-appointed judge rules

by Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

July 7, 2026

A federal judge has quashed a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking personal information from the nearly 3,000 Georgians who served as Fulton County election workers and volunteers during the 2020 election, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s escalating effort to uncover alleged voter fraud in Georgia.

The ruling, issued Tuesday by Trump-appointed Judge William M. Ray, ends a monthslong effort from the Department of Justice to obtain the names, positions, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of election workers in Georgia’s most populous county. Lawyers for the Justice Department argued the records were needed to investigate possible election law violations.

But in a 28-page opinion, the judge pointed out that the statute of limitations for any election-related crimes committed in 2020 has expired and cautioned against allowing sensitive information to be divulged without a “legitimate law enforcement purpose.” 

“Should a private company fail to protect such information from electronic thieves, such company would most likely be sued in a data breach class action lawsuit,” Ray wrote. “Thus, everyone, whether you support the President or you do not, or whether you believe the 2020 Election was fair or believe that it was not, should be concerned about the DOJ’s ability to utilize the power of the Grand Jury to appropriate your private information without a legitimate purpose.” 

Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts celebrated the judge’s strongly worded ruling, which called the subpoena into the county’s 2020 election records “unprecedented,” “troubling” and “problematic.”

“Fulton County will continue to do all that is needed to assure Georgia citizens that our election process is fair and proper and to show that the attacks against it are baseless,” Pitts said in a statement. 

Fulton County, which is home to much of the city of Atlanta, was at the center of President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen in Georgia, despite three counts — including one hand count — that affirmed former President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state. Previous investigations into the 2020 election did not find any merit to the claims of rampant voting fraud or intentional misconduct by Fulton election workers and leaders.

The ruling also comes in the wake of the Federal Bureau of Investigation reassigning hundreds of analysts to an ongoing investigation into Fulton County’s 2020 election records, which were obtained during a January raid on Fulton County’s elections hub. Each analyst will be expected to check a total of 708 records by July 17, with weekend and holiday overtime pay authorized, according to a memo obtained by MS NOW.

Department of Justice officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

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