Judge Extends Florida Voter-Registration Deadline by One Week
- Florida Democrats sued seeking delaying after hurricane
- League of Women Voters, ACLU both intervened in the case
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A federal judge extended Florida’s voter-registration deadline by a week, to Oct. 18, after damage and delays caused by Hurricane Matthew closed government offices in some counties for several days.
Under normal circumstances, Florida’s voter-registration law complies with federal law, which requires states to register voters until 30 days before a general election. The storm, however, first caused government offices to close on Oct. 6, meaning some voters were restricted from registering by Oct. 11 as the law allows, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker said during a hearing in Tallahassee on Wednesday.