Thread: Clinton Campaign: Extend FL Voter Registration Due to Hurricane Matthew

Clinton Campaign: Extend FL Voter Registration Due to Hurricane Matthew



6 Oct 2016

Robby Mook, the campaign manager for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, demanded that Florida officials extend the state’s voter registration deadline past Tuesday due to disruptions caused by Hurricane Matthew.

Mook made his comments on a conference call with reporters, according to Politico, and explained that the Clinton campaign expected to win the state through early voting — unless the hurricane disrupted voter registration in the last few days before the Oct. 11 deadline.
Politico elaborates:

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Mook said Gov. Rick Scott and others should move the deadline past Tuesday so voters in the critical battleground state could register to participate in November’s election in time while also staying safe as the storm that has already killed more than 100 in Haiti bears down.

The request came as Mook was explaining the importance of early voting, particularly in Florida, to Clinton’s White House bid.

Storms have played a role in previous elections. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey a week before Election Day. Voting procedures were affected in New Jersey and New York; more importantly, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie praised President Barack Obama’s response to the storm, and embraced him on a special presidential visit to the state. Ironically, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had declined a presidential visit out of concern that it would be too disruptive.

The presidential candidates have been neck-and-neck in Florida polls over the past several weeks. The infamous 2000 recount made clear how close the partisan balance is in a state that has 29 electoral votes, tied with New York for the third-highest of any state.

Mook’s request for an extension to fit the Clinton campaign’s plans recalls then-Vice President Al Gore’s request for a partial recount of Florida votes in 2000, focusing only on counties where Democrats were strongest.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...icane-matthew/

October 06, 2016, 08:52 pm
Florida gov says he won't extend voter registration deadline over hurricane



Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Thursday refused to extend the state's voting registration deadline in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

“I’m not going to extend it,” he told reporters during a press conference in Tallahassee that evening. "Everybody has had a lot of time to register. So, on top of that, you know, we’ve got a lot of opportunities to vote, early voting, absentee voting and Election Day. "I don’t intend to make any changes.”

Hillary Clinton's campaign had called for Scott to extend the Oct. 11 voter registration deadline as the storm closed in.

South Carolina, also expected to face heavy damage from Matthew, extended its own voter registration deadlines earlier Thursday.

The registration deadline was originally set for Oct. 9, but mailed voter registration forms will now be accepted as long as they are postmarked by Oct. 11.
Online, faxed and email applications can be submitted before midnight on Oct. 9, while the last day for in-person registration is still this Saturday.

Scott said at the news conference that protecting residents from Matthew’s expected danger remains his “No. 1 priority.”“This storm’s a monster. Matthew is likely to produce devastating impacts from storm surges, extreme winds and heavy rains along portions of the East Coast tonight," he said.

The National Weather Service warned Matthew could leave parts of Florida “uninhabitable for weeks” after landfall.

President Obama declared a state of emergency in Florida ahead of the Category 4 hurricane.

The disaster declaration allows state and local officials to obtain federal aid to help the recovery from the storm, which is expected to cause major devastation in the Sunshine State.

Obama’s order also allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Assistance Management (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster-relief efforts in the state.

Matthew’s approach comes amid a tight race between Clinton and Donald Trump just over a month from Election Day.

Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, leads Trump by about 4 points nationwide, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefi...oting-deadline