WASHINGTON (AP) — With registration deadlines looming, Democrats and civil rights groups are calling on election officials in states devastated by Hurricane Helene to give voters more time.
A judge in South Carolina on Friday extended that state’s deadline to Oct. 14, but the outlook remains uncertain in the other hardest-hit states.
In North Carolina, one of the most hotly contested presidential races, election officials do not plan to extend the Oct. 11 voter registration deadline, said Patrick Gannon, spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections. That could change when the Legislature meets next week to consider adjustments to state election laws.
The storm and the flooding caused by Helene devastated a wide area around the mountain town of Asheville, claiming dozens of lives and destroying roads and bridges.
Gannon said election offices will process voter registration forms that were mailed on time and received by Oct. 16. Eligible voters will also be allowed to register during North Carolina’s in-person voting period, which begins Oct. 17.
In Georgia, the other major presidential swing state in the storm’s path, at least 40 advocacy groups wrote to Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, urging them to extend the registration deadline in affected counties by at least a week beyond the deadline Monday out.
The groups said the devastation significantly limits Georgia voters’ ability to register online, in person or by mail for the upcoming presidential election.
“If there are any circumstances that would justify an extension of the deadline, these are the circumstances,” said Amir Badat, a voting rights attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the groups that sought the extension.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said it was assessing the hurricane’s impact on election offices across the state and ensuring polling places were fully operational for voters, spokesman Mike Hassinger said. As of Friday, there had been no move to change the registration deadline.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund sent a similar letter to Florida officials on Friday, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd.
DeSantis, a Republican, issued an executive order making some storm-related election changes for the 13 counties affected by the hurricane, including changes to early voting sites. However, the order did not provide for an extension of voter registration.
Friday’s decision in South Carolina came after a lawsuit by the state’s Democratic Party. The South Carolina Election Commission said it needed the judge’s order because it alone does not have the authority to change the voter registration deadline.
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Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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