Voting rights groups are asking a judge to let people in Florida register to vote for a little longer before the big election on November 5. They say that hurricanes, named Helene and Milton, have made it hard for people to sign up to vote.
Last week, the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) told Governor Ron DeSantis that they wanted to extend the deadline from October 7 to October 17, but he said no. The governor’s office hasn’t said anything about it yet.
As Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s west coast with heavy rain and strong winds, many people were ordered to leave their homes to stay safe. Just two weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene had already caused a lot of damage in the area.
The voting rights groups mentioned that many people who wanted to register couldn’t do so because of the emergency situation. They said, “Tens of thousands of Florida residents, forced to choose between safety and exercising their fundamental right, have been denied the opportunity to register to vote.”
Governor DeSantis is on the same side as Donald Trump, who is running for president again in 2024. Right now, polls show Trump is very close to Kamala Harris, the Vice President and Democratic candidate, in important states where every vote counts.
Florida is the third-largest state in the U.S. and has 30 electoral votes, which are very important for winning the election. Even though Florida has been a battleground state where both parties compete hard for votes, it has been leaning more towards the Republican side in recent years.
