DOJ Wants Reprimanded Judge Recused in Georgia Voter Rolls Case

The Justice Department asked a federal judge in Georgia who was reprimanded for misconduct to recuse herself from its lawsuit seeking voter rolls.

The government lawyers made the request to US District Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta in a Friday filing. The brief argues that Ross’s attendance at a primary election party for Fulton County DA Fani Willis creates an appearance of bias.

“A judge who attended a party celebrating the election of a Democrat best known for prosecuting a Republican President for alleged election interference cannot then preside over a case concerning that President’s efforts to ensure election integrity,” reads the filing signed by Assisant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump political apppointee who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

A recent misconduct order from the Eleventh Circuit found that an unnamed federal judge had sex in her chambers in earshot of law clerks, and inappropriately attended a partisan political event hosted by a district attorney’s campaign.

Bloomberg Law reported Thursday that the subject judge is Ross. She and court representatives didn’t return requests for comment ahead of that report’s publication.

Willis had filed charges against Trump and others over attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. That criminal case was dropped after Trump won reelection in 2024.

The case is US v. Raffensperger, Docket No. 1:26-cv-00485 (N.D. Ga. Jan 23, 2026)