Is voter intimidation a crime? Arizona police talk ballot box concerns | USA TODAY

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office is monitoring ballot drop boxes after two men in tactical gear with weapons were seen near one in Mesa, Arizona.

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Law enforcement officers are monitoring outdoor ballot drop boxes as voter intimidation complaints over election observers continue to roll in, Maricopa County officials said. Groups of people have filmed voters and taken photos of their license plates as they dropped off their early ballots. It's not a state crime, but it's making voters uncomfortable.

"People have rights, and I respect those rights," Sheriff Paul Penzone said Monday of the election observers. "But you can be intimidating without committing a crime. You can make people uncomfortable without committing a crime. It doesn't make it OK because it's not a crime."

He promised to provide as many deputies as needed to ensure safety, as U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and state officials warned ballot drop box watchers that they won't tolerate voter intimidation. "The more folks that there are creating problems, the more deputies you're going to see on the streets focused on this," Penzone said at a news conference. "We'll come and babysit polling sites because people want to misbehave, if that's what we have to do to protect democracy."

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29 comments

    1. @Christin Burdge Dude I don’t vote party line and cheating is on both sides all the time. Be careful what you wish for because violence is what you want.

    2. @Bill M to secure peace is to prepare for war. Both sides are corrupt wef puppets. These people are simply trying to keep people from not having their voices heard because of cheating. What’s wrong about that? Once again, to secure PEACE, is to prepare for war.

    3. @Christin Burdge Good luck with that dude. Just as long as you’re on the front line and not hiding behind your keyboard.

    1. True, not a crime to sit with a weapon and watch people. A bit creepy, maybe scary for some, but probably not a crime. No idea why people are making such a big deal. And covering their faces like Antifa, BLM and the Klan, thankfully nobody feels even slightly threatened by that, and after all only brave people wear masks and carry guns, it’s actually a nice thing to do. I wouldn’t be threatened if masked people with guns came and sat in front of my house, church or the school where my kids go, after all it’s not a crime, it’s perfectly normal (and civil, not to mention friendly, neighbor-like behaviour. Totally.) See how the media makes a big deal about everything?

    1. If your referring to people watching the boxes so there’s no cheating, again, than you obviously know about the cheating and do not care. No one is making people vote for certain candidates by watching u put your ballet in a box. Just once this time.

  1. It may not be offense in the state but it’s a federal offense for voter intimidation, those losers should be charged with federal offense.

    1. True, and only criminals and cowards such as BLM, Antifa, the Klan and these guys wear masks to conceal their identities, they covered up their license plates as well.

      Just curious, if someone came and sat on the sidewalk in front of your house, or in front of your church, or the school where your child(ren) go to school wearing masks and carrying guns, would you be comfortable with that? Presumably yes, after all you’re not a criminal, so nothing to fear.

    2. @John S. ဂျွန် ဆာလာ I’m trying to make sense of the last paragraph. Nobody with a gun should be allowed to stand in front of a school unless they’re guarding it. I think we addressed the mask=hiding =criminal fact. Dumbocrats love masks…guess why. Now get a clue.

    1. At least you’re honest about your feelings.

      Anyway, as long as they’re stuffing it with the party you support, you’re cool with it.

  2. The Kiev regime has already completed technical preparations for a provocation with a “dirty bomb”: specialists of the Ukrainian enterprise Yuzhmash have prepared a dummy rocket, which is planned to be filled with radioactive material, and then allegedly shot down over the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and announce the launch of a nuclear charge by the Russian armed forces.

  3. Really? When Rittenhouse used the argument and won a murder case he felt threatened so if I go to vote and feel threatened I should pull a Rittenhouse? I hope Kari Lake, RNC chair are there! It would be fantastic!

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