[JURIST] A federal judge on Monday partially granted [order, PDF] a request by the Florida Democratic Party [party website] to extend the state’s voter registration deadline in light of Hurricane Matthew evacuations. The party filed a federal lawsuit [JURIST report] on Sunday against Governor Rick Scott [official profile] requesting that the deadline be extended a full week to give citizens ample opportunity to register. In their complaint, the party argued that refusal of the request would force residents to choose between their right to vote and there own safety, thereby violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments [text] as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 [DOJ backgrounder]. Judge Mark Walker extended the deadline to Wednesday and emphasized the importance of fully respecting voter rights for the sake of democracy. A hearing will take place on Wednesday to determine whether the deadline will be further extended.

Voting issues have become especially contentious as the presidential election approaches. Last week a federal court issued [JURIST report] a preliminary injunction in favor of the Pyramid Lake and Walker River Paiute Native American tribes challenging Nevada’s voting procedure of failing to provide polling places on Native American reservations. Late last month California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation [JURIST report] clarifying felons’ voting rights. The law now clarifies that those sentenced under the third category of Criminal Justice Realignment Act of 2011, a term in county jail, are not stripped of their constitutional right to vote and confirms that only those serving a state-prison sentence or on parole and under California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation supervision lose the right to vote. Earlier in September a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a motion [JURIST report] blocking Illinois from allowing voter registration on Election Day in the state’s most populated counties. The week before the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down [JURIST report] a procedure implemented by the Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted that effectively eliminated inactive voters from registration rolls if they failed to respond to letters requesting confirmation of their status and addresses.