Group behind voting misinformation campaign in Northern Va. loses federal appeal [View all]

Group behind voting misinformation campaign in Northern Va. loses federal appeal

InsideNoVa.com
December 29, 2023, 8:28 PM

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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District has dismissed an appeal by a right-wing advocacy group ordered to stop distributing false, threatening and misleading mailers prior to November’s election, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Friday.

In October, Miyares issued a cease-and-desist order to Look Ahead America Inc., after the group was found distributing voter misinformation in Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier counties.

The flyers, distributed by the D.C.-based nonprofit operating under the name “Virginia Voter Assistance,” erroneously told voters the government could “seize their assets,” bank accounts and vehicles if they chose not to participate in upcoming elections. The organization also falsely told residents who don’t vote that as a result, they could lose Social Security income, Medicare benefits, unemployment benefits, child custody rights and concealed carry permits.

The group sued Miyares after the cease-and-desist, challenging Virginia’s voter intimidation statutes and seeking an injunction to continue the mailers. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia sided with the attorney general’s office and denied the group’s request. On Wednesday, the Fourth Circuit dismissed Look Ahead America, Inc’s appeal from that denial, Miyares said in a news release.

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