By BRANDON LARRABEE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
With little more than 24 hours to go before Florida’s voter registration deadline, there was no word from a federal court mid-day Monday on a lawsuit seeking to give residents more time to sign up for the November presidential election.
It was unclear whether any decision would come from the court on Monday, which marked a federal holiday, Columbus Day.
The Florida Democratic Party filed suit late Sunday to try to force state officials to extend the deadline for up to a week to allow residents who fled Hurricane Matthew to continue registering. Gov. Rick Scott, who heads a super PAC supporting GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, has refused to allow more time.
In the suit, lawyers for the Democratic Party argue it was unfair for Scott to warn residents to follow evacuation orders ahead of the storm while at the same time refusing to give people more time to register after the storm displaced them and forced government offices to close.
“Even if would-be voters choose to disregard the commands of Defendant Scott and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and venture out to attempt to register amid the chaos caused by Hurricane Matthew, it is unlikely that any office permitted to accept voter registration applications will be open,” the suit argues.
Thousands of Floridians fled areas threatened by the storm, and at least a half a dozen deaths in the state have been attributed to Matthew and its aftermath.
The filing also says the effects of the decision not to extend the deadline will hurt some voters more than others. The party argues in its lawsuit that minority voters are more likely to register closer to the election, and that voters in parts of the state untouched by Hurricane Matthew will face fewer obstacles to signing up.
“Unlucky Floridians who happen to live in the counties stricken by Hurricane Matthew who have not yet registered will be unable to register by the October 11 deadline and will therefore not be permitted to vote in the upcoming general election,” the lawsuit said. “Meanwhile, their neighbors to the west, who by happy geographic accident will not have to contend with the devastation of Hurricane Matthew, will have no difficulty registering by the October 11 deadline and casting their vote in the general election.”
The registration deadline has become a flashpoint in Florida, the nation’s largest swing state, one month ahead of Election Day in one of the most heated presidential campaigns in recent political history. The Democrats’ lawsuit was announced less than two hours before a testy debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida’s 10 Democratic U.S. House members sent a letter to Scott urging him to extend the deadline. But Scott had already signaled he was unlikely to do so.
“Everybody has had a lot of time to register,” Scott said Thursday.
Clinton’s campaign announced Monday morning that she and former Vice President Al Gore would focus on voter registration Tuesday during a campaign stop in Miami.