A federal decide on Thursday declined to reopen voter registration in Georgia for the upcoming November elections after dealing with registration disruptions brought on by Hurricane Helene.
The decide rejected arguments that registration ought to undergo subsequent Monday, stating in her ruling that there could be no extension from the unique deadline, which was final Monday, The Related Press (AP) reported.
The NAACP, the Georgia state convention of the NAACP and different advocacy teams filed a joint criticism earlier this week asking for a short lived extension for voter registration within the wake of Hurricane Helene, in line with a Tuesday press launch.
“In a historic election 12 months, it’s vital that each eligible voter has a chance to solid their poll. As hundreds of thousands of Georgia residents grapple with the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, Georgia’s election officers and state leaders have an obligation to make sure a good elections course of,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and Georgia state convention President Gerald Griggs mentioned in a joint assertion from Tuesday’s press launch.
“Extending the voter registration deadline is essential to give impacted communities the time they need to recover and fully participate in the election process,” they added.
The lawsuit alleged that Hurricane Helene had prevented individuals with driver’s licenses from registering on-line as a consequence of energy and web outages, the AP reported. Folks had additionally been unable to register in individual because of the closure of at the least 37 county election workplaces that week.
The secretary of state’s workplace had ready earlier than the storm for potential disruptions, communications director Robert Sinners instructed The Hill earlier this week.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger mentioned earlier this week that no election workplaces have suffered long-term injury and that his workplace is working to make sure the protection of election employees and the performance of apparatus.
“We have to let the first responders finish doing their jobs, but as power is restored and voting locations can be assessed, we will make sure that the upcoming election is safe, secure and convenient for all Georgia voters,” Raffensperger mentioned.
This comes as different states have made modifications associated to voting within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Final week, South Carolina had prolonged its voter registration deadline by eight days as a consequence of Hurricane Helene.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an government order making some adjustments to early voting websites for the 13 counties affected by Hurricane Helene, however no adjustments extending the voter registration deadline, the AP reported.
