Civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to extend the voter registration deadline as many Georgians recover from Hurricane Helene.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Georgia, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the law firm Cooley LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and New Georgia Project.
The plaintiffs want an emergency temporary restraining order from the Northern District of Georgia to prevent the disenfranchisement of Georgians impacted by Hurricane Helene’s effects. The filing seeks a new registration deadline of Oct. 14, a week past Monday’s deadline.
Proponents say the change would allow residents across the state who could not register to vote because of widespread flooding, damaged roadways, power and internet outages, suspended postal service and the closure of county boards of election offices to do so.