Judge Michael T. Liburdi said activists have a First Amendment right to gather around ballot boxes in the state. Voting rights groups called the tactic voter intimidation.
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A photo provided by the Maricopa County Elections Department shows two armed individuals at the site of a ballot drop box in Mesa, Ariz., last week.
A federal judge on Friday refused to ban an activist group from gathering near ballot boxes in Arizona, arguing that the members’ actions did not appear to constitute a “true threat” or intimidation and that their right to assemble in public spaces is constitutionally protected.
In his 14-page ruling, Judge Michael T. Liburdi found that while “many voters are legitimately alarmed by the observers filming” at ballot boxes in Maricopa County, there has been no proof that the group, Clean Elections USA, has encouraged any acts of violence against anyone, nor has it posted personal or identifying information about anyone.
“While this case certainly presents serious questions,” Judge Liburdi wrote, “the court cannot craft an injunction without violating the First Amendment.” In denying a request for a restraining order and injunction, the judge, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona by President Donald J. Trump in 2019, said he would keep the case open and agreed to hear any new evidence that shows the defendants “have engaged in unlawful voter intimidation.”
Clean Elections USA has said it is trying to prevent voter fraud by organizing activists across the country to station themselves near drop boxes set up to receive mail ballots. The aim, they say, is to observe voters and document possible instances of voter fraud or misconduct.
ImageAn individual watches a drop box from across a parking lot in Mesa, Ariz., on Monday.Credit…Bastien Inzaurralde/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
But a lawsuit filed on Monday by two nonprofit organizations, the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Voto Latino, alleged that the group’s intent was to dissuade people from voting through harassment and threats. They claimed the group’s actions violated federal voting protections.
The lawsuit, which asked for an injunction against Clean Elections USA, identified numerous incidents in which voters in Maricopa County were followed, photographed and accused of being “ballot mules” — a term borrowed from a conspiracy theory about voters who fraudulently cast multiple ballots at once. In several cases, the activists carried firearms and wore military-style protective gear and masks.
Judge Liburdi’s ruling, which is limited to Arizona, comes just 11 days before a midterm election that has been riddled with false claims of fraud and misconduct in voting, as Mr. Trump continues to spread the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Many right-wing groups have mobilized to work the polls, challenge ballots and station observers at counting centers in search of wrongdoing.
With advanced turnout suggesting that more than three-fifths of all votes nationwide could be cast ahead of Nov. 8, ballot drop boxes have become an early flash point.
Since early voting began in Arizona on Oct. 12, Arizona’s secretary of state has referred at least six complaints of voter intimidation to the Department of Justice and the state’s attorney general for investigation. All of the incidents took place at outdoor ballot boxes in Phoenix and Mesa, a suburb.
“Voter intimidation is illegal, and no voter should feel threatened or intimidated when trying to vote,” Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat who is running for Arizona governor, said in a statement this week. “Anyone attempting to interfere with that right should be reported.”
Many of the activists refused to speak to the press or identify themselves, but Melody Jennings, founder of Clean Elections USA, has described them as “our beautiful box watchers” and “my people” in posts on Truth Social, the social media platform founded by Mr. Trump. She has also posted several photographs of voters and their cars, and she has claimed that one voter “pulled ballots out of his shirt.”
“The Constitution won today,” Ms. Jennings wrote in a post after the Friday ruling. “This battle is not over, but today was a step for freedom and for your 1st amendment rights being preserved.”
Ms. Jennings did not respond to a request for comment.
In his decision, Judge Liburdi also dismissed Voto Latino from the suit, arguing that it did not have standing because it had not demonstrated a financial impact from the issues it alleged in the complaint. A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
A second lawsuit filed this week against Clean Elections USA, as well as another group that has organized stakeouts at ballot drop boxes, was reassigned to Judge Liburdi earlier on Friday. It also seeks an injunction, but a hearing on the matter has not yet been held.
Source: nytimes.com
