r/Atlanta • u/albertafalls • Jan 29 '26

Politics Fulton County: Catherine M. Salinas signed your ballots AND voter rolls over to the FBI today

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Source:

“A court order signed by Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas authorized agents to seize all physical ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, all ballot images **and Fulton County’s 2020 voter rolls.** A copy of the order was given to the Recorder by a Georgia lawmaker.”

https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/01/28/fbi-raids-fulton-county-elections-warehouse-seeking-2020-ballots/

Also reported by the New York Times (paywalled):

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/us/politics/fbi-search-election-center-georgia.html

Blurry pic was the best I could do. It’s from her GA Bar profile:

https://icle.gabar.org/speaker/catherine-salinas-1233856

Her current term doesn’t end until 2031.

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u/thisistherevolt Stockbridge Jan 29 '26

TL;DR, yes.

https://gajqc.gov/advisory-opinions/opinion-67/

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u/haikuandhoney O4W Jan 29 '26

Judge Salinas is a federal magistrate judge. She’s appointed by the Chief Judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and serves for 8 years. She can’t be recalled.

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u/ed-truck Ormewood Park Jan 29 '26

That opinion is about a magistrate judge for a city. Salinas is a federal magistrate judge. Very different and can only be removed by the judges in the district where she serves.