Judge Orders Armed Group Away from Arizona Ballot Drop Boxes

Following allegations that individuals carrying weapons and donning masks were scaring voters, a federal judge on Tuesday ordered armed members of a group monitoring ballot drop boxes in Arizona to maintain a minimum distance of 250 feet from the locations.

Judge Michael Liburdi of the U.S. District Court ruled that anyone associated with Clean Elections USA, including its leader, is prohibited from filming or following anyone within 75 feet (23 metres) of a ballot drop box or the entrance to a structure housing one. Additionally, they are not allowed to shout at or speak to anyone inside that area without first speaking to them.

After Clean Elections USA urged individuals to view 24-hour ballots, the League of Women Voters of Arizona asked for the interim restraining order.

The League of Women Voters of Arizona asked for the interim restraining order after Clean Elections USA urged individuals to keep an eye on the voting machines in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populated county, around the clock.

It is crucial that we strike a balance between the defendant's rights to engage in First Amendment activity that is guaranteed by the Constitution and the interests of the plaintiffs and voters casting ballots without being subjected to intimidation or harassment, according to Liburdi.

On Monday, the lawsuit was dismissed against a second group of defendants from rural Yavapai County, including the Lions of Liberty and the Yavapai County Preparedness squad, both of which are affiliated with the far-right anti-government organisation Oath Keepers.

As the midterm elections approach, tales of people, some of whom were armed, keeping an eye on 24-hour voting machines in the two counties have frightened local and federal law officials. After observers of the ballot boxes took pictures, videos, and followed voters, some voters have reported that they were the victims of voter intimidation.

Sheriff's deputies have been manning the two outdoor drop boxes in Maricopa County as protection after two armed individuals in bulletproof vests showed up at a box in the Mesa, Arizona, suburb of Phoenix. At the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in downtown Phoenix, which is currently encircled by a chain link fence, there is another 24-hour outdoor drop box for the county.