PHX Reporter

The Arizona Secretary of State’s office has referred a report of voter intimidation to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Arizona's Attorney General's Office.

According to a story by ABC15, the Secretary of State’s (SOS) office said that a group of people approached a voter at the Mesa Maricopa County voter drop box location, then followed the voter.

The intimidation happened while "the voter was trying to drop off their ballot at an early voting drop box on Monday," a county spokesperson wrote in an email. "The SOS has talked to the voter, informed Maricopa County and referred the report to the DOJ and Attorney General (AG’s) offices for further investigation."

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer reminded voters that voter intimidation is a crime and should be treated as such.

“Any attempt to deter, intimidate a lawful voter is unlawful, should be immediately reported, please to us, but also law enforcement,” he said in the story.

In a Tweet by Data Guru, it was reported that the intimidation happened "when a voter said they were approached and followed by a group of individuals."

In the ABC15 article, Richer said both county drop box locations have cameras, but he pointed out that other groups have called upon volunteers to "watch" voter drop boxes. Richer didn't specify who or why.