S.C. extends voter deadline after Helene; Georgia doesn’t

With registration deadlines looming, Democrats and civil rights groups are asking election officials in the states ravaged by Hurricane Helene to give voters more time.

A judge in South Carolina on Friday extended that state’s deadline to Oct. 14, but prospects are uncertain in the other hard-hit states.

There’s no indication Georgia is extending its deadline to register and/or update information like an address.

That deadline is Monday.

Richmond County Board of Elections Executive Director Travis Doss says there are some convenient ways to do this:

• Visit the Georgia MVP page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/
• Visit the Augusta Board of Elections website at https://augustaga.gov/vote
• Visit the Board of Elections’ temporary office in the lobby at 535 Telfair Street, Municipal Building, Augusta, GA, between 9: a.m. and 4 p.m.

If you have questions, contact the Richmond County Board of Elections at 706-821-2340 or via email at richmondelections@augustaga.gov.

The deadline comes as some in Georgia are living in the dark after Hurricane Helene left extensive damage to parts of the state. Secretary of Brad State Raffensperger said he’s reaching out to every county to make sure they’re ready for early voting, which starts on Oct. 15.

Raffensperger reported that as of Thursday, there was no known damage to voting machines. The Jenkins County election office was badly damaged in the storm, but the machines were fine, he added.

Raffensperger also said the office does have additional equipment in reserve.

In Georgia, the other major presidential swing state in the storm’s path, at least 40 advocacy groups wrote Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, urging them to extend the registration deadline in the affected counties by at least a week beyond Monday’s deadline.

The state’s election board adopted new rules last month, including a hand-counting requirement and more training for every poll worker in all 159 counties —including Nico Parra.

“Before this, we had a poll worker shortage. And so these hurricane effects and the new hand-count rule are simply adding more burden to election offices that are already stuck,” Parra said.

Parra is opposed to hand-counting and said his friends in hard-hit areas of the state like Augusta and Valdosta are just trying to find a place to live.

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Civil rights groups said the storm’s devastation severely limits Georgia voters’ ability to register for the upcoming presidential election, whether online, in-person or by mail.

“If there are any circumstances that would merit extending the deadline, these are those circumstances,” said Amir Badat, a voting rights lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the groups requesting the extension.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said it’s evaluating what effects the hurricane had on elections offices around the state and is making sure polling places are fully functional for voters, spokesperson Mike Hassinger said.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund sent a similar letter Friday to Florida officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd.

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