Will a federal judge stop ballot drop box monitors? A decision could come by Friday

After three hours of courtroom discussion, federal Judge Michael Liburdi says he hopes to decide by Friday whether to approve an emergency order that would stop ballot drop box monitors from staking out Arizona voting locations.

But, he also said he may work through the weekend on it.

"I understand the exigencies of the circumstances, so I'm going to work as quickly as I can," he said at the close of a hearing in U.S. District Court in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday.

The announcement comes after two voting rights groups filed a legal challenge on Monday targeting conservative group Clean Elections USA, which has organized drop box surveillance in the Phoenix area, and its founder, Melody Jennings.

The Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, a progressive grassroots organization that supports seniors' issues, and Voto Latino, a nonprofit focused on getting out the young Latino vote, claim in court documents that Jennings has coordinated a "campaign of vigilante voter intimidation."

Lawyers for the organizations doubled down on that claim at Wednesday's hearing.

"There's not a need for vigilantes to enforce election law," attorney David Fox said.

Veronica Lucero, an attorney representing Jennings, pushed back. She said the proposed emergency order is too broad and would violate Jennings' rights.

Jennings, who lives in Oklahoma, was not present in court. Lucero said she was retained to represent Jennings less than 24 hours ago. She declined to comment to The Arizona Republic on whether she had yet spoken personally with Jennings about the case.

Voter guide: Where to drop off your Arizona ballot and how to track it

"They kind of came on fast and strong and they're asking for this incredibly broad injunctive relief," Lucero said to the court.

A separate, but similar, lawsuit was filed Tuesday by Protect Democracy on behalf of The League of Women Voters of Arizona. In addition to Clean Elections USA, it names Lions of Liberty, a right-wing group in Yavapai County. 

Judge hears from witnesses in court

Fox and his co-attorneys called four witnesses to testify.

Two were from the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and one, who flew in from New Jersey to appear in court, was from Voto Latino. The final witness was a 41-year-old voter who dropped off her early ballot last week at an outdoor drop box by Maricopa County Juvenile Court in Mesa. 

Lucero questioned the witnesses about how they knew the people they described were with Clean Elections USA. All said they didn't definitively know, but had heard from the news that the group organizing the monitors.

Three people stationed near a drop box outside Maricopa County's election headquarters last week told The Republic they were with Clean Elections USA, but were hesitant to answer other questions.

Attorneys present arguments

Both sides of the legal challenge had a chance to address the judge.

Fox presented social media posts from Jennings's Truth Social account, as well as video and audio from interviews on right-wing shows, such as Steve Bannon's War Room.

In the social media posts, Jennings shared photos of the same observers captured in voter complaints to election officials and called them "our beautiful box watchers." She also shared photos and videos of voters and their license plates.

On Bannon's show, she was interviewed as a video of a voter getting into an argument with the monitors played on the screen, saying the person had filed an intimidation report with the U.S. Department of Justice.

"Jennings talked about doxxing people," Fox said. "There is clearly a threat of violence."

Lucero aimed to poke holes in that argument, noting that Jennings has posted several times on Truth Social that observers should follow the law. Jennings's goal, she said, isn't to intimidate lawful voters. Rather, she said Jennings aims to deter potential ballot harvesters and is encouraging drop box monitors to report illegal activity to law enforcement.

"She's already stated in her posts that people need to follow the law, so I don't know what else she needs to do here," Lucero said.

She also said ballot harvesting does happen, citing a case in Yuma where a woman was convicted of collecting four ballots in the August 2020 primary.

Online, Jennings has previously mentioned "2,000 Mules," a widely debunked documentary which alleges without proof that widespread ballot harvesting occurred during the 2020 presidential election. Numerous court cases and a hand count review of ballots in Maricopa County have not found evidence of widespread fraud.

Lucero said her client might be willing to work out an agreement with the court, but the proposed injunction is too broad.

"Everyone will be afraid to gather in the areas around drop boxes, which they have the right to do," she said.

Liburdi gave Fox the final word.

"It is admittedly a somewhat broad injunction but that's because what we have is a broad problem that is getting worse day by day," Fox said.

Sasha Hupka covers Maricopa 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.