Georgia lawmakers press DOJ for details on subpoena for Fulton County election worker information

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia’s two U.S. senators and congressmembers representing Fulton County want to know why the U.S. Department of Justice is demanding the personal information of the county’s 2020 election workers.

Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, along with Democratic Reps. Nikema Williams and Lucy McBath – whose districts include parts of Fulton County – sent a letter to acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday asking for details behind a recently issued subpoena for the election workers’ names, addresses and phone numbers.

The lawmakers also asked how the DOJ plans to protect the workers’ information.

Fulton County leaders have been trying to block the subpoena, which came months after the FBI raided the county’s elections hub as part of an investigation into potential election fraud.

RELATED: Justice Department wants the names of Fulton County’s 2020 election workers

In the letter, the lawmakers ask Blanche for details including the legal and factual basis for seeking personal information from the election workers, the DOJ’s process for obtaining the subpoena, and what safeguards the department has to protect the workers’ information.

The lawmakers requests that Blanche’s office provide a briefing to their offices by May 22, and provide written responses to their questions in the letter by June 1.

Read the full letter below:

Dear Acting Attorney General Blanche:

As elected representatives of Fulton County, Georgia, we write with grave concerns regarding the Department of Justice’s (the Department) recent federal grand jury subpoena seeking sensitive personal information for individuals who served as election workers, staff, contractors, or volunteers in Fulton County during the November 2020 General Election. We request an immediate briefing on this matter from the Department of Justice and answers to our written questions below.

On April 17, 2026, a federal grand jury subpoena was issued to the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections seeking rosters of election staff members sufficient to identify each person’s name, position or function, residential address, email address, and personal telephone number. The subpoena applies broadly to individuals assigned to review mail-in ballots, serve on voter review panels, work at mobile voting locations, transport ballots or election media, work or volunteer on Election Day, participate in the risk-limiting audit or recount, serve as precinct managers or assistant managers, or otherwise work for or contract with the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections.

This demand is deeply troubling. The subpoena does not appear limited to a specific alleged incident, precinct, witness, or irregularity. Instead, it seeks personal identifying information for thousands of people who helped administer an election more than five years ago. Many of these individuals were or remain public servants, temporary workers, or volunteers who performed routine election administration duties. Their service should not expose their home addresses, personal email accounts, or phone numbers without a clear, lawful, and narrowly tailored basis.

The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections has moved to quash the subpoena, arguing that the request is “unprecedented,” “harassing,” “overbroad,” and “untethered to any reasonable need.” The motion also notes that the subpoena is unlikely to support a federal prosecution because the statutes of limitations for any conceivable 2020 election-related federal offense appear to have expired.

The structure of the subpoena raises additional concerns. Although the subpoena was issued in the Northern District of Georgia, the materials identify an Assistant United States Attorney from the Middle District of North Carolina as the requesting prosecutor. The subpoena attachment also instructs Fulton County to send responsive materials to the identified Assistant United States Attorney and a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, rather than clearly directing production to the grand jury itself.

The 2020 Presidential election in Georgia has been counted, recounted, audited, certified, litigated, and repeatedly confirmed. Nevertheless, false claims about the 2020 election have continued to erode trust in our elections and fuel harassment against election workers and volunteers.

Fulton County election workers have already endured years of threats and harassment from false claims about the 2020 election. The Department’s subpoena risks compounding that harm by demanding the residential addresses and personal contact information of thousands of people who served in election administration.

We expect your full compliance with federal law and regulations governing grand jury subpoenas, the handling of sensitive personal information, and the protection of election workers from intimidation or misuse of federal law enforcement authority. The Department must also avoid even the appearance that federal criminal process is being used to revive baseless claims about a settled election or to target the people who administered it.

Given these concerns, we request that your office provide a briefing to our offices no later than May 22, 2026, and provide written responses to the following questions by June 1, 2026:

1. What is the legal and factual basis for seeking personal identifying information of Fulton County election workers, staff, contractors, and volunteers?
2. Clarify the legal and factual basis for the substantial breadth of categories of individuals regarding whom the subpoena seeks information.
3. Did a federal grand jury authorize the issuance of the subpoena? If so, where is that grand jury impaneled? Why is the return of the subpoena directed to an Assistant U.S. Attorney and not to the grand jury?
4. What specific federal offense(s) is the Department investigating through this subpoena? Identify the statute of limitations timeframe for each specific federal offense.
5. Why did the Department seek residential addresses, personal email addresses, and personal telephone numbers, rather than less sensitive records sufficient to identify job function or role?
6. Why does the subpoena cover thousands of individuals rather than a narrower set of records tied to specific incidents, precincts, witnesses, or identified investigative needs?
7. What supervisory approvals at the Department of Justice were required before the U.S. Attorney’s Office sought personal information from election workers and volunteers?
8. Why is the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina involved in grand jury proceedings in the Northern District of Georgia concerning Fulton County election workers?
9. Has the Department served similar subpoenas, preservation requests, records requests, search warrants, or demands to other Georgia counties, other states, election boards, election offices, election vendors, or state officials related to the 2020 election?
10. What safeguards will the Department apply to protect the personal information of election workers, including limits on access, retention, sharing, disclosure, and future use? Which individuals will have access to this personal information?
11. Will the Department commit that the information sought in the subpoena, if received, will not be shared with individuals or entities outside the Department, including state officials, political actors, private parties, or members of the public?
12. What steps did the Department take before issuing this subpoena to evaluate its effect on election worker safety, recruitment, retention, and public trust in election administration?
13. Did the Department consider less intrusive means of obtaining any information it claims is relevant to its investigation? If so, please explain what alternatives were considered and why they were rejected.

Georgia’s election workers and the public deserve to know why the Department is seeking their personal information and what safeguards will prevent misuse of this sensitive information.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

MORE COVERAGE:

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