The Florida Democratic Party has filed suit against Governor Rick Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner in an effort to get the state’s voter registration deadline extended because of Hurricane Matthew.
The deadline to register to vote for the November 8th election is Tuesday, October 11th.
The lawsuit claims that Florida voters could not register because they faced a “daunting and, indeed, life-threatening obstacle to registering to vote in the form of Hurricane Matthew, a massive and dangerous weather event that has threatened Florida with substantial damage and loss of life.”
During one of his hurricane briefings last week, the Governor stated that he would not be extending the deadline to register to vote.
The lawsuit further states “Plaintiff brings this lawsuit because Defendants have refused to take any action to protect the voting rights of Florida citizens who, due to Hurricane Matthew, cannot register to vote by the upcoming October 11 registration deadline. “
The lawsuit is seeking an emergency injunction requesting that the state be ordered to extended the deadline to register to vote by at least one week.
The governor's office responded this evening by saying they are reviewing the lawsuit but otherwise had no further comment.
