Florida Democrats Sue To Extend Voter Registration Deadline

WUSF | By The Associated Press

Published October 10, 2016 at 9:06 AM EDT

The is asking a federal judge to extend the state's voter registration deadline at least a week due to Hurricane Matthew.

The party late Sunday filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott andSecretary of State Ken Detzner. It comes a few days after Scott publicly turned down a request from Democrats to extend the state's Oct. 11 registration deadline.

The lawsuit, filed inthe United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida points out that Scott urged Floridians to "evacuate, evacuate, evacuate" ahead of Matthew. The storm scraped the state's eastern coast and is blamed for at least four deaths in Florida. It contends Scott forced voters to choose between their safety and their right to vote.

Scott said he did not extend the deadline because people have had enough time to register.