Three voting rights organizations are calling upon a federal judge to mandate the reopening of voter registration in Georgia for the upcoming November elections in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s impact. These groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta, contending that the hurricane-induced damage and disruptions prevented individuals from registering before the state’s registration cutoff. The lawsuit, initiated by the Georgia chapter of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and the New Georgia Project, seeks an extension of registration until October 14th due to the challenges faced last week, which caused the cancellation of voter registration activities.
The plaintiffs argue that the closure of registration resulted in potential voters being unfairly disenfranchised, citing issues such as power outages, impassable roads, and closures of county election offices and post offices. They stress that the inability to register could unjustly affect thousands of individuals, creating an irreversible injury to their voting rights. The case has been brought before U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to address the plaintiffs’ request for reopening registration.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office, responsible for managing the state’s voter rolls, refrained from commenting on the legal proceedings. Georgia, housing 8.2 million registered voters, is a crucial battleground state where even a marginal number of votes could potentially impact electoral outcomes significantly.
The lawsuit emphasizes how Hurricane Helene disrupted voter registration processes, hindering online registration due to power and internet outages and preventing in-person registration as a result of closed election offices across 37 counties. Moreover, mail services were suspended in several regions, further impeding voter registration efforts in the aftermath of the storm.
Drawing parallels to previous instances where registration deadlines were extended post-natural disasters, like Hurricane Matthew in 2016, the Georgia plaintiffs contend that such accommodations are necessary to safeguard citizens’ constitutional rights. They cite violations of the First and 14th Amendments, as well as the National Voter Registration Act’s stipulation that states must accept registrations up to 30 days prior to an election.
Advocacy groups had already approached Governor Brian Kemp and Raffensperger to consider extending the registration deadline before the lawsuit was initiated. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund echoed similar calls to extend registration to Florida officials, underscoring the broader implications of natural disasters on voter participation and democratic processes.
