In October, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed emergency litigation to reopen the voter registration period in Florida after Governor Ron DeSantis failed to extend an Oct. 7 deadline that fell between two major emergency disaster events, hurricanes Helene and Milton.
These disasters caused the closure of government offices, roads, the postal service and loss of internet access within the final days of the registration period. Despite these circumstances and the state’s own mandatory evacuation orders, Gov. DeSantis refused voting rights organizations’ request to extend the voter registration deadline.
In response, the SPLC filed a complaint on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) and the NAACP Florida State Conference (FL NAACP), in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Florida, seeking a temporary restraining order to extend the deadline. The complaint argued that state leaders’ refusal to extend the voter registration deadline in response to these uncontrollable, life-threatening natural disasters in the final days of the voter registration period made it impossible or unduly difficult for many Floridians to register to vote by the Oct. 7 deadline.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle denied the injunction, stating that extending the registration deadline would overload election supervisors and that residents had the option to register online. The case was formally closed after the November election.
