Judge rejects reopening Florida voter registration because of Hurricane Milton impacts
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge Wednesday rejected a request from the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida NAACP to reopen voter registration for the November election because of Hurricane Milton.
Floridians faced a Monday deadline to register to vote in the election, and the groups argued that Hurricane Milton evacuations and other factors, including lingering problems from last month's Hurricane Helene, prevented people from registering. The groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday contending the registration period should be reopened for 10 days.
But with Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration opposing the request, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle held a hearing Wednesday and said the "problem is not something that is going to be solved by the court."
"The solution is not a constitutional reworking of the deadline that the Florida Legislature set," Hinkle said.
The judge also said people could have registered to vote online Monday before the deadline.
"If they had evacuated, they still could have registered while evacuating if they had a cell phone," Hinkle said.
In addition, he said a "substantial state interest" exists in not extending the registration deadline for what he said could be the "most closely watched election ever." Hinkle cited additional pressures on elections supervisors, such as trying to find poll workers and enough polling places after the hurricanes.
"It's important to have clear rules and follow them, and it's especially important in the current environment," Hinkle said.
The lawsuit, which raised First Amendment and constitutional equal-protection issues, said Monday's deadline was "sandwiched" between Helene and Milton. Helene made landfall Sept. 26 in Taylor County after causing extensive damage in other Gulf Coast communities; Milton was forecast to make landfall Wednesday night on the Gulf Coast before crossing the state.
"Residents of Florida depend on the final days of the registration period to submit their applications for the upcoming elections, especially for presidential elections," the lawsuit said. "Accordingly, a significant number Floridians register to vote in the weeks, and especially days, leading up to the registration deadline. Organizations such as the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, have members spread all across Florida and they work tirelessly in those waning days to register voters."
Matletha Bennette, a Southern Poverty Law Center attorney who represented the groups at Wednesday's hearing, said people were focused Monday on evacuating from areas that could get hit by Milton instead of registering to vote. Also, she said the looming storm led to cancellation of voter-registration drives Monday at places such as the University of South Florida.
"There are probably tens of thousands of voters who will be disenfranchised," Bennette said.
But Mohammad Jazil, an attorney for DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, said the groups could have taken steps such as directing people to register online. Also, he said early voting will start in some counties Oct. 21 and that elections supervisors have only 13 days after Monday's registration deadline to make sure voters are on the books.
"We have a very truncated schedule," Jazil said.