Lawsuit over monitoring of AZ 2022 midterm election ballot drop boxes settled
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters of Arizona that alleged people congregating near and surveilling ballot drop boxes during the 2022 midterm elections were intimidating voters.
As part of the settlement, an organizer of the ballot drop box surveillance effort agreed to "publicly condemn intimidation of any kind in connection with the exercise of the right to vote," according to a statement from Protect Democracy, which filed the suit in October on behalf of the league.
Other terms and obligations of the settlement are private, the parties said. Defendant Melody Jennings, founder of the group that organized people to surveil drop boxes, did not mention voter intimidation in a statement released Saturday by the Texas-based organization True the Vote.
True the Vote financially supported Jennings throughout the lawsuit and is behind the debunked film "2,000 Mules," which states without proof that widespread ballot harvesting occurred during the 2020 presidential election. The conspiracy film inspired many of Arizona's ballot drop box monitors to participate in photographing early voters at the boxes.
“I am happy to have had the opportunity to stand up for the Constitution and assert my rights on behalf of all Americans," Jennings said.
The lawsuit against Jennings came after ballot drop box observers — with lawn chairs, pizza, video cameras and sometimes firearms — became a defining image of the 2022 midterms in Arizona.
The monitoring in Maricopa County sparked many voter intimidation complaints over a matter of weeks. Two lawsuits were quickly filed in federal court. U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi declined to grant an injunction in one of the cases, which came from the Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans and Voto Latino.
Lawsuit: The election is over. But Arizona's ballot drop box monitors are still in court
But the League of Women Voters of Arizona won an emergency order from Liburdi, who said their argument offered the opportunity for a limited set of restrictions that balanced the right to vote safely with freedom of expression.
His order banned ballot box observers from taking photos of voters within 75 feet of a ballot box or openly carrying guns within 250 feet of the boxes. The order also prohibited observers from posting identifying images or information about voters online and making false statements about election laws until the end of the voting period.
Both sides claim victory
Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, framed the settlement as "a win" for free speech and assembly.
"Today, freedom won," she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Orion Danjuma, an attorney with Protect Democracy, said the emergency order Liburdi issued in October showed the court recognized the importance of ensuring that Arizona voters are uninhibited in casting ballots. He called the case "an important victory for voters' rights."
Sasha Hupka covers Maricopa County, Pinal County and regional issues for The Arizona Republic with a focus on voting and democracy. Do you have a tip about elections or questions about voting? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SashaHupka.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona midterm election ballot drop box monitoring lawsuit settled
