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Judge rejects reopening voter registration due to Hurricane Milton

TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge Wednesday rejected a request from the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida NAACP to reopen voter registration for the November election because of Hurricane Milton.

Floridians faced a Monday deadline to register to vote in the election, and the groups argued that Hurricane Milton evacuations and other factors, including lingering problems from last month’s Hurricane Helene, prevented people from registering. The groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday contending the registration period should be reopened for 10 days.

But with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration opposing the request, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle held a hearing Wednesday and said the “problem is not something that is going to be solved by the court.”

“The solution is not a constitutional reworking of the deadline that the Florida Legislature set,” Hinkle said.

The judge also said people could have registered to vote online Monday before the deadline.

“If they had evacuated, they still could have registered while evacuating if they had a cell phone,” Hinkle said.

READ MORE How could hurricanes impact the election? What we can learn from 5 recent storms

This is a News In Brief report. Visit WLRN News for in-depth reporting from South Florida and Florida news.

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