The ruling is a partial win for the civic organizations and liberal groups that sued Clean Elections USA, which has falsely asserted that the 2020 election was rigged and claims its drop box stakeouts are needed to prevent massive voter fraud in the 2022 midterms.
The ruling comes at a moment of rising concerns about violence at the polls.
Federal Judge Michael Liburdi, a Trump appointee, convened a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, which featured testimony from at least one voter who described the harassment he and his wife faced while casting their ballots at a drop box in Mesa.
The parties in the lawsuit agreed to some of the terms that ended up in Liburdi’s order. But for some key provisions, specifically about filming and doxing voters, Liburdi imposed limits against Clean Elections USA that its lawyers argued were unnecessary.
The right-wing activists claim their only goal is to lawfully prevent fraudulent voting.
A voter casts their ballot at a drop box is displayed outside Philadelphia city hall on October 24, 2022. - Philadelphia's 18 secure mail ballot drop boxes, positioned around the city, are monitored by security cameras and equipped with fire extiguishing systems to protect against tampering.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules incorrectly dated or undated ballots must be set aside
The judge handed down his decision just four days after he ruled the other way in a related case, declining on Friday to issue an order restricting the drop box stakeouts. At the time, Liburdi said there wasn’t enough evidence to curtail the group’s First Amendment right to free assembly.
Between the two rulings, the Justice Department weighed in on the case. In a legal brief filed Monday, federal prosecutors said the right-wing group’s “vigilante ballot security efforts” were likely illegal and that they “raise serious concerns of voter intimidation.” The Justice Department didn’t formally take a side, but its filing endorsed some of the legal theories put forward by the group that filed the lawsuit, the League of Women Voters.
Liburdi said his ruling – a temporary restraining order – will expire in two weeks, which means it covers the remainder of the election season. Election Day is November 8.
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