Rights Groups Sue to Extend Voter Registration in Georgia After Hurricane

Rights groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking a court order for Georgia to extend its voter registration deadline until October 14, arguing that the impacts of Hurricane Helene made it difficult for many people to register in the period before the October 7 deadline.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Georgia, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the law firm Cooley LLP filed a lawsuit and a motion for a temporary restraining order against Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans.

The suit states that power and internet outages, damage to roads, and disruptions to postal and election services served to effectively disenfranchise would-be voters.

"People simply need more time to ensure their voices are heard on Election Day. That's only fair," Damon Hewitt, LCCRUL's president, said in a statement.

"This situation calls for a bit of compassion and a healthy dose of common sense, to make sure those who qualify to vote are able to register," Hewitt added. "Access to the ballot should not be reserved only for those who were not affected by a disastrous hurricane."

Amir Badat, special counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, agreed, saying that "just as the state has stepped in to provide essential services to impacted Georgians, it should step in to protect residents' fundamental right to vote by extending the voter registration deadline to October 14."

Georgia was widely devastated by the hurricane, which dropped more than 11 inches of rain on Atlanta, in the state's north, in a 48-hour period, and did the most severe damage in the south of the state, in towns such as Valdosta.

Georgia was one of many southeastern states hit by Helene, which struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 and, even as its winds weakened as it traveled north, brought extremely heavy rainfall that triggered mass flooding, most notably to western North Carolina. The storm killed more than 230 people, making it one of the most deadly in U.S. history.

Democrats and rights groups in several of the states have moved to have voter registrations deadlines—which vary from state to state—extended in light of the storm. The state Democratic Party in South Carolina successfully sued to get an extension to October 14.

North Carolina and Georgia are considered the region's two key battleground states in the presidential election, with Florida possibly also in play. About 17% of North Carolina's voters are in declared disaster areas, according to an analysis by a local expert. The state has an October 11 deadline for certain types of voting, which officials don't plan to change, ABC News reported.

Tuesday's lawsuit in Georgia wasn't the first effort to change the final registration date—at least 40 advocacy groups had already written Kemp and Raffensperger to urge them to extend the deadline in affected counties. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund sent a similar letter to Florida officials, according to ABC News.

The new lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, and New Georgia Project, the rights groups' statement said.

Georgia has been a key site of voters' rights struggle this year, with right-wing forces going to extraordinary lengths to try to purge the voter rolls. The five-member Georgia State Election Board has three right-wing members who have been accused of trying to rig the system in favor of Republicans.

For Georgia and neighboring states, the damage wrought by Helene, and potentially by Hurricane Milton, which is expected to hit the region this week, could affect election turnout in multiple ways—not just hurting voter registration, but making it harder for registered voters to cast their ballots.

"Even if the states' election systems can weather the storm, Helene could hamper voters on the way to casting their ballots," The Hill reported Monday. "For some, wrecked roadways and homes mean physical barriers—while others simply may not have time to think about the election as they grapple with the fallout."