Judge Eleanor Ross Exits Georgia Voter List Case After DOJ Challenge
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross recused herself on June 16, 2026 from a federal case in which the Department of Justice is suing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for an unredacted statewide voter list. The DOJ had moved to remove her, pointing to her reported attendance at a campaign event connected to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Ross’s recusal order cited “an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias.” She acknowledged in writing that an outside observer could read her attendance at a Willis-linked event as partisan alignment, even though she said she went only to see former colleagues from the Fulton County DA’s Office, where she worked before her appointment to the bench.
Ross Had Already Received a Private Reprimand for Courthouse Misconduct
A court investigation previously found that Ross had sex with a high-ranking uniformed police officer inside her courthouse chambers, within earshot of staff. The same investigation found she attended a partisan event and initially denied both allegations to investigators. A judicial conduct panel issued a “private reprimand” as its sole consequence.
“Both the Trump administration’s present and Willis’s past efforts have become heavily polarized.”
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, recusal order, June 16, 2026
That reprimand did not remove Ross from the bench or reassign her cases. She remained on the voter list lawsuit until the DOJ formally challenged her.
The Underlying Case: DOJ Seeks Georgia’s Full Voter Roll
The DOJ filed suit against Raffensperger demanding an unredacted version of Georgia’s statewide voter file. Unredacted voter rolls can include Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. The Brennan Center for Justice has documented that exposure of such data creates risks of voter intimidation and identity theft.
The case does not end with Ross’s departure. A new judge will be assigned to determine whether Raffensperger must hand over the full voter roll. That outcome will affect the privacy of millions of registered Georgia voters.
Willis obtained a 2023 indictment against Donald Trump and 18 others over Georgia’s 2020 election results. That case was dismissed in November 2024, but her office’s earlier role is what the DOJ used to challenge Ross’s assignment to the current case.
What You Can Do Now
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Call Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at (404) 656-2881 and tell his staff you oppose releasing unredacted voter data, including Social Security numbers, without court-ordered privacy protections in place.
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Call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to request a DOJ Inspector General review of whether the department’s demand for unredacted state voter rolls is consistent with the Privacy Act and prior DOJ voter data policy.
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File a judicial conduct complaint with the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council at ca11.uscourts.gov/judicial-conduct-disability-complaints if you believe the private reprimand for courthouse misconduct and lying to investigators was insufficient under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.
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Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee at (202) 224-7703 and ask members to hold oversight hearings on the adequacy of judicial discipline under 28 U.S.C. § 352, specifically whether private reprimands are appropriate when a judge is found to have lied during a conduct investigation.
Sources
PBS NewsHour: Judge Who Had Sex in Courthouse Exits Georgia Election Records Case
Brennan Center for Justice: Voter Data Privacy Research and Reports