Federal judge weighs Florida's voter registration deadline
A federal judge pointedly asked why the state of Florida on Thursday could not further extend its voter registration period after a computer meltdown earlier in the week might have prevented untold thousands of potential voters from taking part in November’s presidential election.
But U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker also wondered whether extending the deadline would be an undue burden on election officials across Florida, who are already under pressure to hold voting amid the coronavirus pandemic and the intense scrutiny that comes with the states’ status as a national battleground.
Walker said he would issue a ruling quickly, perhaps just hours after hearing arguments from lawyers representing Florida’s Secretary of State and voter advocacy groups who say thousands of Floridians could be disenfranchised when state elections servers failed after being overwhelmed by unprecedented traffic on Monday, the last day to register to vote.
Data filed by the state indicates that 50,000 people had registered during the extended time period. Based on previous trends, the judge noted, perhaps more than 20,000 additional people might have also registered to vote, if they had been able to access the system.
Walker took umbrage at a state lawyer’s argument that other venues were available to register to vote, including in-person at an elections office or by mail.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/373131-federal-judge-weighs-floridas-voter-registration-deadline
