PHOENIX — A Maricopa County judge has blocked Arizona election officials from enforcing – for now – some rules designed to prevent voter intimidation at the polls.
The rules are outlined in three pages of the 385-page Arizona Election Procedures Manual, which also offers guidance to election officials on voter registration, voting equipment, Election Day procedures, certifying the election and more.
Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a conservative think tank, sued Secretary of State Adrian Fontes earlier this year, challenging a number of provisions in the manual.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill said in her ruling that “many of the prohibitions” in the voter-intimidation rules “are free speech and protected by both the Arizona Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.”
The judge has not made a final decision in the case, but her injunction prevents election officials from enforcing the voter intimidation section of the elections manual while the case remains pending.
In a statement to ABC15, Fontes’ office said it plans to appeal.
“While we respect the court's decision to halt certain speech restrictions, implementing a preliminary injunction for the general election would be too far-reaching,” the statement said in part.
In the statement, Fontes said the voter-intimidation provisions are “based on existing statute that is well settled law.”
In a section titled “Preserving Order and Security at the Voting Location,” the elections manual lists actions that “may be considered intimidating conduct” inside or outside the polling location, including:
- Yelling or taunting.
- Using “threatening, insulting or offensive language.”
- Confronting, questioning, photographing or videotaping voters or poll workers “in a harassing or intimidating manner.”
- Posting signs or communicating messages about voter fraud penalties “in a harassing or intimidating manner.”
- Following voters or poll workers who are arriving or leaving.
The manual also states that opening carrying a firearm outside a 75-foot perimeter around the polling location could be considered voter intimidation.
In her ruling, the judge said the election manual includes restrictions on speech that are impermissible, calling them "troubling."
"From pages 180 to 183, the EPM contains what this Court finds to be speech restrictions in violation of our Arizona Constitution, misstates or modifies our statutes, and fails to identify any distinction between guidance and legal mandates," Ryan-Touhill wrote.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office noted that state law prohibits some behavior within 75 feet of a polling place.
“It is still illegal to electioneer, take photos, and intimidate voters within the 75 foot limit,” Fontes’ office said in its statement.
Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s wide-ranging lawsuit also challenged election manual provisions on voter registration, early voting, ballot curing and more.
However, Ryan-Touhill dismissed a number of those challenges and did not grant an injunction on others.
It’s not clear when a final ruling could be issued. The case does not currently have any court dates scheduled.
