Judge Steven Logan of the US District Court for the District of Arizona issued an order Monday extending Arizona’s voter registration deadline to October 23 due to the impact of COVID-19.

The voter registration deadline in Arizona was originally October 5. On October 2, two non-profit organizations sought an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. They alleged that if the October 5 deadline were enforced, their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights would be burdened.

The plaintiffs sought an extension to October 27, but Logan extended the deadline to October 23. He found that the plaintiffs had standing because many other courts found standing “when organizational plaintiffs’ efforts to gather ballot initiative signatures this year were frustrated due to COVID-19.” Additionally, an injunction would redress the harm alleged.

In granting a preliminary injunction, Logan found that the plaintiffs showed that the burden was severe because there was a large drop-off in registration during restriction months of the pandemic. Because of the pandemic, the organizations couldn’t reach the same number of voters. The harm suffered “is loss of possibly tens of thousands of voter registrations, and a burden to Plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to organize voters.”

Logan stated that the public interest factors cut both ways because extending the deadline could result in voter confusion that would undermine “public trust in the electoral process.” However, “a core tenet of democracy is to be ruled by a government that represents the population.” Because fewer people were able to register to vote, those people were going to be unrepresented.

The judge noted that 31 other states had later voter deadlines than Arizona, many of which allow voters to register when they show up to vote on Election Day. Because of this, the judge ordered that voter registration applications received by 5 PM on October 23 will be accepted and processed in time for eligible voters to vote in the November 3 general election.