Drop box

A federal judge has refused to bar a group from monitoring outdoor ballot boxes in Arizona's largest county, saying that to do so could violate its ...

[Citizens Clean Elections](https://www.azcleanelections.gov/) Commission, an Arizona state agency, voted unanimously Thursday to have its legal counsel seek a court order if necessary to stop the monitoring group from using the “Clean Elections” name. Cilano said The Lions of Liberty is in no way associated with Clean Elections USA. He told them he was filming them and would report them to the House committee investigating the Jan. The journalists identified themselves as working news media to a second man who drove by later in an SUV. Tensions were heightened Friday afternoon outside the drop box in Mesa, where one voter drove up on a motorcycle, deposited his ballot, then made an obscene gesture at an Associated Press photographer and a local TV news crew stationed in a parking lot across the street. “As the several election threat-related cases pending federal felony charges from alleged criminal activity arising out of our State show, acts which cross the line will not go unaddressed.” The county’s other 24-hour outdoor drop box is at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in downtown Phoenix, which is now surrounded by a chain link fence. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, has called on voters to immediately report any intimidation to police and file a complaint with his office. “Plaintiffs have not provided the Court with any evidence that Defendants’ conduct constitutes a true threat,” the judge wrote. The U.S. Department of Justice, as well as a threatening email sent to the state elections director. The attorney for Clean Elections USA had argued that such a broad restraining order would be unconstitutional.

Federal Judge Michael Liburdi will not approve an emergency order to stop ballot drop box monitors from gathering outside Arizona voter locations.

"But on this record, Defendants’ conduct does not establish a likelihood of success on the merits that justifies preliminary injunctive relief. "We urge all older Arizonans not to be deterred and return their ballots before the deadline, or vote in person on Election Day." Sasha Hupka covers Maricopa County and regional issues for The Arizona Republic with a focus on voting and democracy. "The message is that persons who attempt to break Arizona’s anti-ballot harvesting law will be exposed," Liburdi wrote. "Wave and thank them for protecting your freedom." Do you have a tip about elections or questions about voting? "There is no evidence that Defendants have publicly posted any voter’s names, home addresses, occupations, or other personal information," he wrote. A separate, but similar, lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Protect Democracy on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Arizona. That group said Thursday that "While there are serious questions implicated, the Court cannot provide preliminary injunctive relief without infringing core constitutional rights," he wrote. Alternatively, while this case certainly presents serious questions, the Court cannot craft an injunction without violating the First Amendment." The lawsuit continues despite his decision.