A newly unsealed sworn affidavit by FBI special agent Hugh Raymond Evans has revealed the probable cause for the FBI’s seizure of nearly 700 boxes of election ballots in Fulton County, Georgia. The affidavit cited five major areas of irregularity in Fulton County’s election process under investigation.
The affidavit, filed in federal court in Atlanta and unsealed Tuesday, states that the FBI criminal investigation originated from a referral sent by Kurt Olsen, who served as Presidentially appointed Director of Election Security and Integrity. It also identifies Georgia State Election Board member Janice Johnston, a supporter of Trump who has questioned the county’s handling of the election, as a secondary source of information for the probe.
Evans detailed that investigators are examining whether election improprieties in Fulton County constituted violations of federal statutes governing the preservation of election records and the knowing deprivation of a fair election. The affidavit notes Fulton County admitted it does not have scanned images of all 528,777 ballots counted during the Original Count or 527,925 ballots counted during the state’s first recount. It further states that some ballots were scanned multiple times during the Recount, and auditors reported inconsistent vote tallies in batches during the Risk Limiting Audit. The affidavit also confirms Fulton County reported a recount totaling 511,343 ballots—17,434 fewer than the original count—with an updated figure of 527,925 ballots reported the following day.
Federal prosecutors submitted the affidavit to support a search warrant authorizing agents to seize physical ballots from the 2020 general election in Fulton County, including absentee ballots and tabulator tapes. The unsealing followed suit by the chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and the county Board of Registration and Elections seeking the return of seized ballots after filing a lawsuit with U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee.
