Despite Fl. Governor Rick Scott’s continued attempts at voter disenfranchisement, in the wake of Hurricane Matthew last week, a federal judge today extended the voter registration deadline in Florida six days, until October 18th. The original 10/11 deadline had only been extended one day, pending the ruling.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday extended voter registration until Oct. 18 in the battleground state of Florida, due to the disruption and damage from Hurricane Matthew.
During a hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker agreed to extend the deadline for six more days. He had already extended the Oct. 11 deadline one day, after the Florida Democratic Party filed a lawsuit last weekend, following the hurricane's brush with Florida's east coast.
Walker said he acted swiftly because "there is nothing more precious than having a voice in elections."
The original registration deadline was October 11th. During the approach of Hurricane Matthew, Scott and other state officials advised Florida residents on the Atlantic coast to evacuate. Many hundreds of thousands did so. The approaching storm also idled voter registration efforts by both political parties that would have been in final, full push mode last weekend.
Yet Scott refused to extend the registration deadline.
I’m very pleased to read this ruling that gives residents in the affected counties an extended opportunity to get registered to vote, and hope that they remember Scott’s refusal to extend the deadline.