A Maricopa County judge has blocked Arizona election officials from enforcing for now some rules designed to prevent voter intimidation at the polls.
Tuesdays injunction came in a wide-ranging lawsuit challenging various aspects of the Arizona Election Procedures Manual, which outlines rules on voter registration, voting and more.
The manual includes a list of conduct that may be considered intimidating conduct inside or outside the poling place, such as:
Yelling or taunting voters or poll workers 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
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Ryan-Touhill said in her ruling that many of the prohibitions in 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.
However, Ryan-Touhill also dismissed a number of other challenges to the manual and declined to issue injunctions against others.