Chairman: Fulton is Trump's testing ground for 2026 election efforts
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Fulton County is a test case for President Trump's efforts to tilt the 2026 election and reshape the way Americans vote, county Chairman Robb Pitts said Wednesday.
Why it matters: The Jan. 28 FBI raid of the Fulton County office and Trump's recent comments that Republicans should "nationalize" elections have renewed concerns the president is seeking retribution over 2020 — and have raised alarms about 2026 interference, Axios' Avery Lotz reports.
- Control of Congress is on the line in this year's critical midterm, which could derail Trump's MAGA agenda. Democrats have outperformed Republicans in recent races.
Driving the news: On Wednesday, Pitts and the county's elections board filed a motion in federal court to force the return of materials seized by FBI agents at the Fairburn warehouse where scanned ballots and other sensitive election materials are stored.
Zoom in: Pitts said he thinks the raid and probe are part of a larger strategy that could be used to shape or suppress the vote in 2026.
- In November, Georgia will choose a new governor and other statewide officials and will vote in a high‑stakes U.S. Senate contest.
Zoom out: Since beginning his second term, Trump has issued an executive order trying to overhaul mail-in voting (key parts of the overhaul have been blocked by the courts) and seizing voter rolls.
- Republicans in state legislatures have also attempted to redistrict competitive seats to their advantage.
- The Brennan Center for Justice has tracked requests for voter lists and other election materials in at least 44 states.
What they're saying: Surrounded by GOP lawmakers Tuesday, Trump said, "If a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it," claiming states are "an agent" for the federal government in elections.
- The White House did not return Axios' request for comment.
The intrigue: On Monday, Pitts said, an unnamed source who had tipped him off him in the days leading up to the raid said that arrests were forthcoming. Pitts declined to reveal the source but said they were "knowledgeable in D.C."
- "I have not done anything that would warrant an arrest," Pitts said. "I'm not aware of anyone within our elections department having done anything that would warrant an arrest. We're simply doing our job."
Caveat: Because the case is under seal, Pitts said, the county could not share the motion or specific details. He did say that the county's motion requests the court unseal the affidavit supporting the search warrant.
Between the lines: The U.S. Constitution gives Congress broad authority to override state election rules. Georgia's Trump-aligned State Election Board has the authority to take over local election bodies.
- The president, however, has no legal authority to interfere in elections, Wendy Weiser, vice president for democracy at the Brennan Center, told Axios.
- "Does that mean that they are not trying to lay the... foundation for claiming that authority improperly and for trying to do so anyways? That is the real concern here."
Reality check: The raid and ensuing legal efforts create obstacles for elections officials, Pamela Smith, president and CEO of Verified Voting, a nonprofit that promotes the "responsible use of technology in elections," told Axios.
- Fulton is a little more than three months away from the 2026 general primary election, "and to have this kind of disruption, it really makes for a severe impact," Smith said.
- "It makes their jobs much harder. Election officials are our neighbors and people in our community, and we need to support them."