Lawsuit Seeks Later Georgia Voter Registration Deadline After Hurricane Matthew
A hearing is set for Friday morning over a lawsuit filed by voter advocates who are arguing for an emergency extension of Georgia's voter registration deadline, after some residents were unable to submit their applications last weekend because of Hurricane Matthew.
On behalf of several voter advocacy groups, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to push ahead the October 11 deadline by a week, to October 18. The county's government offices reopened on Wednesday for the first time since October 5, after being closed due to the hurricane.
At a minimum, the advocates are asking for relief for voters in Chatham County, but the suit requests that the court grant the extension statewide, says Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the committee.
Under state law, residents who failed to register before October 11 cannot participate in the November 8 general election. The lawyers filed the suit after both Governor Nathan Deal and Secretary of State Brian Kemp refused to move the deadline following last weekend's storm, which the suit says closed the Chatham County government offices for what would have been the last of six days of the voter registration period. It was one of six counties under a mandatory evacuation, and almost half of its residents lost power.
"Our complaint is based on the barriers that we know prospective voters faced in this county. But we have no doubt that individuals experienced these kinds of hurdles elsewhere in the state," Clarke tells Newsweek.
The suit notes that about 42 percent of Chatham County's population is black and Latino, two minority populations that typically are underrepresented in elections.
In their document, the lawyers cite other coastal states that recently have extended their deadlines, including Florida. On Wednesday, a judge there extended the state's October 11 deadline through next Tuesday because of the hurricane's dire effects. South Carolina also moved its deadline because of the storm.
"There is no right more important than the right to vote, and this suit seeks to ensure that those who wish to exercise that right are not arbitrarily blocked by the vicissitudes of a hurricane and the hardened stance of elections officials," Clarke said Thursday in a statement.
If the deadline is not moved, the suit says, "many eligible prospective voters who were forced to choose between their safety and the fundamental right to vote and suffered hardship as a result of Hurricane Matthew will be disenfranchised."
The hearing is set for 10 a.m. Friday at a courthouse in Savannah.
The election is 26 days away, and early voting is underway in places across the country. States with registration deadlines before the end of this weekend include Delaware, Idaho, Missouri and New York. Voters should check their states' websites for specific information regarding deadlines.
