A federal judge has extended voter registration for six more days 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 extended the deadline until Oct. 18.
"Some places are same day register, same day vote. We should have that in Florida, too," said voter Juan Perez.
Walker 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.
"It is incumbent on the state to make it easier for people to vote, not harder for people to vote," said Florida Democratic attorney Kevin Hamilton said.
Democrats had asked Gov. Rick Scott to extend the deadline, but Scott turned down the request and said people have had enough time to register.
"I'm not going to extend it. Everybody has had lots of time to register," said Scott last week.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said he's happy more people will get a change to register.
"That leaves us five days to process everything and have it ready to go," Cowles said.
Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said Tuesday the state would accept the court's decision on the deadline.
“According to the judge, Florida law does not allow for the State to extend the voter registration deadline – see page nine, paragraph two. Therefore, according to the judge, extending the voter registration deadline is not a decision specifically granted to the Governor of Florida, including in a declared state of emergency like Hurricane Matthew. Additionally, the judge stated that the Governor is not a proper party to the lawsuit. The State will follow the court’s decision and discuss with the Legislature possible amendments to current law during the upcoming legislative session,” Schutz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
