Are people allowed to monitor voting drop boxes in Arizona?
By Ngan Nguyen
Copy link
Copy featured image
YES
People can legally monitor ballot drop boxes if they do not intimidate voters. Both directly confronting voters and aggressive or ostentatious displaying of weapons are examples of what may be considered intimidation, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
Two advocacy groups in Arizona asked for a temporary restraining order against Clean Elections USA and its founder Melody Jennings for encouraging groups to gather and monitor ballot drop box locations earlier this month. But, the U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi rejected the lawsuit, arguing that “the Court cannot craft an injunction without violating the First Amendment.”
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
United States District Court for the District of Arizona Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans v. Clean Elections USA
Arizona Secretary of State Guidance on Voting Location Conduct
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
