A US judge on Wednesday ruled that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized during an FBI search ​in January, a win for President Donald Trump’s administration as it pursues the president’s false claims of widespread voter fraud.

Atlanta-based US District Judge J.P. Boulee rejected Fulton County’s request for the return of original copies of the seized material.

Lawyers for the county had argued that the FBI’s search of the county’s election hub relied on faulty and discredited evidence and violated protections under the US Constitution.

FBI officials stand inside a vehicle loaded with boxes of documents removed from the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center on Jan. 28, 2026.…