In the weeks since the November election, following two hurricanes, Democrats and civil rights groups in various states, including battleground states coveted by Democrats and Republicans, have launched lawsuits to extend voter registration deadlines.
Just this week in Georgia, where the voter registration deadline was Monday, civil rights groups had their requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction denied.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for a People's Agenda and Stacey Abrams' New Georgia Project filed the initial complaint against Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party. 7, claiming that failure to extend the deadline violates voters' rights.
Secretary Raffensberger's office responded to the court's decision in a statement, saying: “We agree with Judge Ross when he said, 'I do not believe we have had a single voter who was harmed or likely to be harmed by not registering to vote.' “”
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Forms of voting and destruction in Georgia after Hurricane Helene (Getty Images)
Shortly thereafter, the Secretary also held a Hurricane press conference to announce various actions being taken by the state to ensure citizens had the opportunity to get to the ballot box.
in Florida, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle denied a request for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to block the Oct. 7 deadline and extend registration for another 10 days.
Workers, community members and business owners clean up debris from Hurricane Helene in Marshall, North Carolina, September 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The lawsuit was originally filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for North Florida by multiple civil rights organizations – the League of Women Voters, the Educational Fund of the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida chapter of the NAACP – against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd. He alleged that the failure to extend the deadline constituted an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
They argue that the registration deadline also favors Florida voters who are unaffected by hurricanes.
Civil rights groups are suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, alleging that the failure to extend the deadline constitutes an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests to extend Florida's voter registration deadline are not uncommon and said they “are routinely denied.” In Georgia, however, Torchinsky predicted that extending the voter registration deadline would make little, if any, difference given the state's registration rate.
Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic political commentator, and Greta Bedekovics, deputy director of Democratic policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, both took particular aim at DeSantis and Kemp.
“It appears that Republican Governors Kemp and DeSantis are trying to play partisan politics and prevent people from exercising their right to vote in the face of these tragic natural disasters,” Shroff told Fox News Digital.
“But I'm not sure that will be the case this time because if you look at urban centers like Tampa, they have been trending red in recent years.”
“Governors in states like Georgia and Florida have issued emergency orders in the past expanding voting and registration options after a hurricane, including during the 2022 election cycle. There is no reason why they couldn't do the same this year,” Bedekovics told Fox News Digital.
Mark Ard, director of external affairs for the Florida Department of State, praised Judge Hinkle's decision, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that Florida's voter registration system has been operational 24 hours a day since the 2022 election, giving voters ample time to register to vote.
“The Department of State and statewide election supervisors have noted and published the date of October 7, 2024. The state has a compelling interest in meeting the deadlines set by the Legislature,” the statement read. “We are pleased that the court ruled on behalf of the state of Florida, recognizing the state's compelling interest in maintaining the voter registration deadline and rejecting plaintiffs' attempt to change Florida law.”
Tropicana Field's roof was damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region on October 10, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cecile M. Scoon, co-chair of the League of Women Voters of Florida, a plaintiff in the case, expressed disappointment with the ruling, saying the lawsuits were not politically motivated.
“We have been filing these types of lawsuits for years. How is that political?” Swoon told Fox News Digital. “Before either party ran for office, we filed these lawsuits.
“So we have long been concerned about voters, regardless of how they voted. And honestly, I do a lot of voter registration, and a lot of people who are working hard to get voter registration, a lot of them, probably over 50%, are registering to vote for Trump. That's what they say.”
Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests to extend Florida's voter registration deadline are not uncommon. (iStock)
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Fox News Digital also spoke with Chad Ennis, vice president of the conservative nonprofit Honest Elections Project, who noted that several lawsuits were filed close to the state's voter registration deadline, alleging that judges who refused to extend the registration period “excused themselves” of the rulings by taking take into account the time frame.”
“I don't want to say it's politically motivated, although the left always wants voter registration until Election Day,” Ennis said. “In many cases during Covid-19, Covid-19 was used as an excuse to reschedule, and unfortunately, here too, they tried to use hurricanes to reschedule.”
Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall told Fox News Digital she thinks refusing to extend voter registration could actually negatively impact Republicans in November.
“Because this race is so close, and because Donald Trump and Republicans have not made gains on women, but they have made gains on African Americans – particularly African American males – they may be shooting themselves in the foot with this ruling,” Marshall said.
Various voting rights groups in the states hardest hit by the storms have asked for extensions to voter registration deadlines after the storms. (Bill Ingram/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network via Reuters)
On the other hand, Democrats in South Carolina were successful in their legal maneuvers after the South Carolina Democratic Party (SCDP) sued the South Carolina Board of Elections and a district court judge ordered an extension of the registration deadline to October 14.
“We are pleased that the voter registration deadline has been extended. This is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of public good and ensuring everyone has the right to vote,” said SCDP President Christale Spain.
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South Carolina Election Commission public information officer John Michael Catalano said the commission “was able to comply with the order with minimal impact to election administration. We do not expect this to cause any problems for voters during early voting or on Election Day.”
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key on Wednesday evening, knocking out power to about 3.2 million people in Florida alone by Thursday afternoon. Milton arrived as a Category 3 storm, just weeks after Hurricane Helene, which hit parts of Florida and then devastated North Carolina.
