Judge Rejects Georgia Voting Registration Extension After Hurricane Helene

A file photograph of voters standing in line to cast their ballots during the first day of early voting in the U.S. Senate runoff, in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 14, 2020. Jessica McGowan/Getty Images

A request by voting rights groups in Georgia to reopen voter registration to counter disruptions caused by Hurricane Helene was rejected on Thursday by a federal judge.

The ruling came after voting groups filed a complaint on Tuesday, seeking to temporarily extend the voter registration period in the state which had closed last Monday.

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross found that voting rights organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)—which advocates for racial justice and the rights of black Americans—the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and the New Georgia Project, had failed to sufficiently prove that their members would be harmed if the deadline was not extended for an additional week.

Ross also said that no state laws exist that would allow Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger—the defendants in the case—to order an extension of the voter registration deadline.

The groups argued that potential voters in Georgia had been unable to register before the deadline because of prolonged power and internet outages, election office closures, and disruptions to the postal service resulting from the storm.

Failing to extend the deadline would result in the disenfranchisement of Georgians impacted by the effects of the hurricane, including those in counties with disproportionately large populations of Black voters, the groups said.

“Residents in many counties across the state have faced, and continue to face, widespread flooding, damaged roadways, power outages, and internet outages, as well as suspended postal service and the closure of county boards of election offices,” the groups wrote in their filing with the court.

“Compounding these significant issues is the fact that Defendant Secretary of State is aware that the Secretary of State’s online voter registration platform has been inaccessible and/or experiencing persistent glitches today,” they added.

The groups said there had also been multiple reports of voters experiencing difficulty using the secretary of state’s online voter registration platform on the same day the filing with the court was made.

Historically, there’s a spike in Georgia voter registrations just before the deadline, they argued.

Voter Registration ‘Significantly Impeded’ for Thousands

“As such, registering to vote during the crucial period leading up to the voter registration deadline—when Georgia typically sees a significant spike in registrations—has been significantly impeded or impossible for thousands of Georgians,” they wrote.

While the groups presented testimony stating that they know of at least two people unable to register, Ross said the testimony lacked sufficient details to link it to the damage and disruptions caused by Helene.

“I don’t think we had even one voter who had been harmed or would likely be harmed by failure to register to vote,” Ross said.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump walks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., on Sept. 30, 2024. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

“The harm to the state’s interests outweighs the plaintiffs’ interests,” Ross said in her ruling.

Responding to the motion, the state of Georgia and the Republican Party argued an extension could interrupt the election processes, noting that absentee ballots had already been mailed. Early in-person voting was also scheduled to begin on Tuesday, they said.

Georgia is one of several closely contested states that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

In a joint statement after the ruling, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and Georgia State Conference President Gerald Griggs said Georgia’s election officials and state leaders have a “duty to ensure a fair elections process” in the midst of a “historic election year.”

“Extending the voter registration deadline is essential to give impacted communities the time they need to recover and fully participate in the election process,” they added.

Thursday’s ruling came one day after a separate judge in Tallahassee denied a similar request by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the state NAACP chapter to extend the voting deadline due to the disruption caused by Helene, and more recently, Milton.

The Epoch Times has contacted Gov. Brian Kemp’s office for comment.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.