DOJ wades into Arizona poll-watching case amid voter intimidation concerns

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DOJ wades into Arizona poll-watching case amid voter intimidation worries

Fences surround the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center n Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 25, 2022, to help prevent incidents and pressure on voters at the ballot drop box. Photo: Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images The Department of Justice weighed in on lawsuits on Monday, filing a statement of interest that noted the high risk of voter intimidation posed by "ballot security forces." Why it matters: The filing, which comes , was submitted after a federal judge to stop activists from gathering at and around ballot drop boxes to monitor voters in Maricopa County.The activists claim they are doing so to prevent purported voter fraud, but election officials have reported people in tactical gear and masks — and allegedly armed with weapons — watching over drop boxes for mail-in ballots.Judge Michael T. Liburdi, a Trump appointee, said in his ruling that the activists' actions are protected by the First Amendment and their right to assemble in public spaces. What they're saying: "While the First Amendment protects expressive conduct and peaceable assembly generally, it affords no protection for threats of harm directed at voters," the DOJ said in the statement.The federal Voting Rights Act bars threats, intimidation and coercion, even when they are unsuccessful, government attorneys noted.The First Amendment "does not protect individuals’ right to assemble to engage in voter intimidation or coercion, nor does it transform an unlawful activity for one individual—voter intimidation—into a permissible activity simply because multiple individuals have assembled to engage in it." The big picture: The Maricopa County suit, brought by the nonprofits Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and Voto Latino, was recently consolidated with a separate suit filed in Yavapai County by the League of Women Voters.The League has accused three groups of intimidating voters, including one linked with Oath Keepers. Go deeper:

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