Federal Judge Warns GOP Governor Right to Vote Is ‘Precious’ and ‘Fundamental’
A federal judge Monday afternoon extended Florida’s deadline to register to vote through Wednesday, overruling Republican Governor Rick Scott‘s decision last week during Hurricane Matthew to not extend the deadline, calling it “irrational.” The Florida Democratic Party had filed a temporary restraining order asking for the deadline to be extended.
“Quite simply, it is wholly irrational in this instance for Florida to refuse to extend the voter registration deadline when the state already allows the governor to suspend or move the election date due to an unforeseen emergency,” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in his order, as the Tampa Bay Times reported. “If aspiring eligible Florida voters are barred from registering to vote, then those voters are stripped of one of our most precious freedoms.”
Hurricane Matthew killed at least 26 people as it traveled up the U.S. East Coast, leaving over a million in the Sunshine State without power and causing extensive flooding in several states. Governor Scott ordered the evacuation of 1.5 million people, all but ensuring many would be unable to register to vote. Scott had rightly told residents, “This storm will kill you.” The deadline was Tuesday by 5 PM.Â
“You’ve had, everybody has had a lot of time to register,” Gov. Scott told Florida’s residents. Four years ago Scott led a huge voter registration purge.
“The right to vote is a ‘precious’ and ‘fundamental’ right,” Judge Walker added. The Times notes he also “said more than 100,000 ‘aspiring eligible’ Florida voters are likely to register in the final week before the deadline.”
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