PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge agreed Tuesday to place limits on a group that monitors outdoor polling in Arizona, but within narrow limits that won’t affect its members’ constitutional right to assemble. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi said he will grant a temporary restraining order sought by the League of Women Voters of Arizona against Clean Elections USA. It would also apply to the Lions of Liberty and the Yavapai County preparedness group, which are affiliated with the far-right anti-government group Oath Keepers. These groups or anyone working with them will be prohibited from filming or following anyone within 23 meters of a ballot box or the entrance to a building housing a ballot box. They also cannot speak or shout at people within this perimeter unless spoken to first. It’s the standard distance maintained around polling places under Arizona law, but is usually never enforced at the polls.
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The ordinance also prohibits members of the groups or agents working on their behalf from carrying firearms or wearing body armor within 250 feet (76 meters) of a drop box. “It is of the utmost importance that we balance the defendant’s rights to engage in constitutionally protected First Amendment activity with the interest of plaintiffs and voters in voting without harassment and intimidation,” Liburdi said. Local and federal law enforcement have been alarmed by reports of people, including some masked and armed, monitoring polls around the clock in Maricopa County – Arizona’s most populous county – and Yavapai County as midterm elections approach. Some voters have complained of voter intimidation after people watching the boxes took photos and videos and followed voters. Sheriff’s deputies provided security around the two Maricopa County outdoor lockers after a pair of people carrying guns and wearing bulletproof vests showed up at a box in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa. The county’s other 24-hour outdoor drop box is at the Maricopa County Elections and Registration Center in downtown Phoenix, which is now surrounded by a chain-link fence. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, urged constituents to immediately report any bullying to the police and file a complaint with his office. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs last week said her office received six reports of possible voter intimidation to the attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a threatening email sent to the state’s director of elections. The U.S. attorney’s office in Arizona has vowed to prosecute any violations of federal law, but said local police are on the “frontline of efforts to ensure that all qualified voters can exercise their right to vote without intimidation or other electoral harassment.” abuses”. The temporary injunction issued by Liburdi on Tuesday will be in effect for two weeks, and cooperation from the monitoring groups “shall not be construed as an admission that they engaged in any of these activities,” the judge added. Other terms include the groups posting on their websites and social media that it is not true that casting multiple ballots is illegal in all cases. Exceptions are allowed for family members, members of the same household and caregivers. Alexander Kolodin, the lead attorney for the defendants, said the Arizona League of Women Voters ultimately failed to completely shut down the observer mission. However, the groups are not happy with the limits. “They’re worried they can’t capture what’s going on at 75 feet. They may have missed an opportunity to prevent illegal behavior,” Kolodin said. “Today’s order may make drop box voting a little less secure.” This action folded into another case before Limburdi. On Friday, the judge said the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans failed to make its case against Clean Elections USA. A second plaintiff, Voto Latino, was removed from the case. “The defendants have not made any statements threatening to commit acts of unlawful violence against any particular individual or group of individuals,” the judge wrote. Liburdi concluded that “although this case certainly raises serious questions, the Court cannot issue an injunction without violating the First Amendment.” The judge is a Trump appointee and a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group. Luke Cilano, a Lions of Liberty board member, said the organization had dropped Operation Drop Box on Wednesday “because it brought together people who do not follow the law and our rules of engagement.” The Lions of Liberty is not affiliated with Clean Elections USA, he said. They are connected with the Yavapai County Preparedness Team. But he says the group was not involved in monitoring the ballot box. Similar groups in the United States have embraced a discredited film called “2000 Mules,” which claims people were paid to travel between polling stations and fill them with fake ballots during the 2020 presidential election. There is no evidence for the idea that a Democratic-linked ballot ring conspired to collect and deliver ballots to tip ballots, either in the 2020 presidential election or the upcoming midterm elections. Follow AP’s election coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections Take a look to learn more about the issues and factors playing out in the 2022 midterm elections. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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