WATERLOO, IA - SEPTEMBER 27: Voting booths are set up for early voting at the Black Hawk County Courthouse on September 27, 2012 in Waterloo, Iowa. Early voting starts today in Iowa where in the 2008 election 36 percent of voters cast an early ballot. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Why Florida is the most important battleground state
03:44 - Source: CNN

Story highlights

The US District Court ruling comes after the Florida Democratic Party sued

Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott had opposed the extension

CNN  — 

A federal court has extended Florida’s voter registration deadline from Tuesday to 5 p.m. ET Wednesday due to Hurricane Matthew’s interruption of last-minute sign-ups.

The US District Court ruling comes after the Florida Democratic Party sued, seeking an additional week due to the “strong likelihood” many of the state’s voters would be “severely burdened” by the hurricane’s fallout in the upcoming election.

Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott had opposed the extension, saying last week that “people have had time to register.”

In court papers, Marc Elias, who serves at the general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, argued that Scott “unambiguously ordered” Florida citizens to evacuate, and now some voters have been prevented from being able to register which might decrease “the overall likelihood” that the party will be successful in helping to elect Democrats.

Judge Mark E. Walker set a Wednesday hearing on whether to further extend the deadline beyond Wednesday.

“It has been suggested that the issue of extending the voter registration deadline is about politics. Poppycock,” Walker wrote. “This case is about the right of aspiring eligible voters to register and to have their votes counted. Nothing could be more fundamental to our democracy.”

Hurricane Matthew struck the southeastern United States, hitting two states, Florida and North Carolina, that are crucial to determining the outcome of this year’s presidential race.

“Hurricane Matthew not only forced many of those voters to evacuate the state, but also foreclosed the only methods of registering to vote: in person or by mail,” Walker wrote. “Because those aspiring eligible voters could not register, they could not vote in the upcoming election. As a result, Florida’s statutory framework completely disenfranchises thousands of voters, and amounts to a severe burden on the right to vote.”

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated what day Judge Mark E. Walker scheduled a hearing on the voter registration deadline extension. That hearing is Wednesday.