A voter places a ballot in a drop box outside of the Maricopa County Elections Department on August 02, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
A pair of armed and masked men in tactical gear stood guard at ballot drop boxes in Mesa, Ariz., on Oct. 21 as people began early voting for the 2022 midterm elections.
They belonged to an election monitoring group called Clean Elections USA, which has echoed former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. The group says it’s watching early voting in select counties for signs of fraud. But its presence caused unease amongst Maricopa County voters, who saw these “drop box watchers” as a blatant attempt at voter intimidation.
“Uninformed vigilantes outside Maricopa County’s drop boxes will not be increasing election integrity. As an alternative they’re resulting in voter intimidation complaints,” Maricopa County election officials Bill Gates and Stephen Richer said in a joint statement the following day.
Two armed individuals wearing tactical gear were onsite the Mesa ballot drop box.
Source: Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and Maricopa County
A U.S. District Court judge appointed by Trump, Michael Liburdi, ordered members of Clean Elections USA to remain a minimum of 75 feet away from drop boxes and never to follow or speak to voters. They were also told they couldn’t openly carry weapons. The ruling was in response to a brief restraining order filed by two voter advocacy groups, alleging the poll watchers were attempting to “bully and intimidate lawful Arizona voters.”
“We’re deeply concerned in regards to the safety of people who’re exercising their constitutional right to vote and who’re lawfully taking their early ballot to a drop box,” Gates and Richer said.
While Arizona has seen a bunch of voter-intimidation reports, the state is definitely not alone. Fears about voter intimidation and suppression have been brewing nationwide because the 2020 presidential election, when Trump refused to just accept his loss and accused several states of voter fraud.
The rising rhetoric has tensions running high going into Tuesday’s midterms. Two in five U.S. voters said they were anxious about threats of violence or voter intimidation on the polls, in response to a latest Reuters/Ipso poll.
The identical disinformation about election fraud that fueled the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot is identical disinformation that is “threatening political violence related to our elections,” Mary McCord, the manager director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and former federal prosecutor, said in an interview on PBS Newshour:
“And by political violence, I do not just mean physical violence. I mean intimidation, voter intimidation, intimidation and threats and harassment against our election staff, aggressive recruitment of poll watchers from groups just like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to be really a force for intimidation on the polls, and other forms of really anti-democratic processes which can be being driven, again, by the identical disinformation and lies in regards to the 2020 election,” McCord said.
President Joe Biden noted the rise in political violence in a speech Wednesday night, calling on voters to go to the polls next week to assist preserve democracy.
“There’s an alarming rise within the number of individuals on this country condoning political violence or just remaining silent,” Biden said. “In our bones we all know democracy is in danger, but we also know this: It’s in our power to preserve our democracy.”
His remarks also got here on the heels of the violent attack against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, of their San Francisco home.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, said the country was facing an “environment of fascism.”
“Any such intimidation on the polls brings us to Jim Crow,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an Oct. 28 interview on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes.” “It brings us back and harkens back to a really unique type of American apartheid that will not be that long gone ago.”
Two armed individuals wearing tactical gear were onsite the Mesa ballot drop box.
Source: Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and Maricopa County
With political-violence and voter-suppression concerns at an all time high, federal agencies and nonprofits are taking the threat to election integrity with heightened seriousness.
The Department of Justice stepped up efforts in recent weeks to guard voters and election staff. The agency launched an election threats task force in July 2021 to make sure voters are protected on the polls and to research intimidation of election staff.
In early October, the FBI warned voters about possible election crimes ahead of the midterms, emphasizing its efforts to teach voters on their rights and inspiring them to report violations. Election crimes fall under three broad categories, in response to the FBI: ballot or voter fraud, campaign finance violations and the violation of civil rights, including voter suppression or voter intimidation.
The DOJ has made some extent of underscoring its hard-line position against voter intimidation.
“The Justice Department has an obligation to ensure a free and fair vote by everyone who’s qualified to vote and won’t permit voters to be intimidated,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said during an Oct. 24 press briefing.
The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit law and public policy institute, identified 10 states at a high risk of disruption because of the quantity of false allegations and anti-voter activity. They’re Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Latest Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
Many states have instituted additional safeguards to assist ease concerns within the lead-up to, and on, Election Day.
In Latest York, Attorney General Letitia James issued voter-protection guidance to local boards of elections and law enforcement. The 15-page guide outlines the constitutional and legal protections afforded to voters, in addition to what’s permitted at polling stations and what will not be. James also established a statewide election protection hotline for voters.
“Voting is a fundamental right and integral to the sanctity of our democracy, and I urge anyone who encounters obstacles to contact my office. I won’t allow anyone to threaten the fitting to vote in Latest York state,” James said in a press release.
Similarly, Latest Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin established a voter protection initiative to discover and address any voting rights or civil rights violations in early voting and on the polls “to be sure that every eligible voter will have the opportunity to solid a ballot, and that anyone who attempts to interfere with the voting process can be held accountable to the complete extent of the law.”
Nonpartisan voter-protection hotlines also can be found in Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina and Montana, along with hotlines run by the American Civil Liberties Union at each the state and national level. Election Day voters can call local election offices to report any complaints.
“We at all times hope and expect that elections will run easily and voters won’t encounter any problems. Nevertheless, we all know that issues do arise and we’re on standby to assist voters resolve these issues and make sure that their voices are heard,” ACLU West Virginia advocacy director Eli Baumwell said in a statement.
