Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
Spanish at 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888- 839-8682).
Arabic at 844-YALLA-US (844-915-5187).
Asian languages at 888-API-VOTE (1-888-174-8683).
American Sign Language
301-818-VOTE (301-818-8683).
Over 1,000 threats have been made against election officials around the country, according to the DOJ and FBI, with 58% made in places where MAGA Repubicans challenged the 2020 election results, including as Arizona, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.
Arizona’s secretary of state has referred several voter intimidation complaints to the Justice Department after aggressive groups staking out drop boxes shouted conspiracies while following, filming, and harassing citizens they called “mules.”
Unauthorized private militias are groups of armed individuals who participate in paramilitary or law enforcement functions without being called on by a governor or the federal government and without reporting to any government authority.
Private, unauthorized militias and military units are prohibited in all 50 states from engaging in activities reserved for the state militia, including law enforcement.
Private military units are prohibited by the Arizona Constitution from acting outside of governmental authority: “[t]he military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.” Art. II, 20 of the Arizona Constitution.
Arizona law makes it illegal for groups of people to organize as private militias. It is a felony for any “person, partnership or corporation,” other than state and local law enforcement, “sheriff’s posses,” and armed security guards protecting businesses, to “maintain troops under arms.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 26-123.
In Arizona, it is a misdemeanor for any person “to wear any part of the uniform of the national guard” or the U.S. armed forces, “or a uniform so similar as to be easily mistaken therefor, unless the person is a member of the service whose uniform he wears” or a veterans association. Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 26-170.
In 1886, the Supreme Court ruled, as it did again in 2008, that the Second Amendment “does not prevent the prohibition of private paramilitary organizations.” Heller v. District of Columbia, 554 U.S. 570, 621 (2008) (quoting Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252 (1886)).
Last Monday, a New Mexico state judge cited militia subordination law in issuing an injunction that virtually prohibits the New Mexico Civil Guard, an extremist paramilitary group, from operating in the state.
Following the violent 2017 “Unite the Right” demonstration in Virginia, the same legal argument triumphed against white supremacist groups.
The Republican-led Maricopa County Board of Supervisors said earlier this month that they are working with the FBI and the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center to ensure that all election activities are safe.
They also encouraged people to seek out accurate information about the election process and not fall for myths and inaccuracies.