Southeast
Democrats, civil rights groups push to extend voter registration in swing states battered by hurricanes
Weeks out from the November election after two hurricanes, Democrats and civil rights groups in various states, including battleground states Democrats and Republicans covet, have launched lawsuits to extend voter registration deadlines.
Just this week in Georgia, where the voter registration deadline was Monday, civil rights groups were denied motions for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda and Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project filed their initial complaint against Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party Oct. 7, arguing that not extending the deadline violates voters’ rights.
Secretary Raffensberger’s office responded to the court’s decision in a statement, saying “We agree with Judge Ross, who said, ‘I don’t think we had even one voter who had been harmed or would likely be harmed by failure to register to vote.’”
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Voting forms and devastation in Georgia after Hurricane Helene (Getty Images)
The secretary also held a press conference shortly after the hurricane to announce various measures taken by the state to ensure citizens could make it to the ballot box.
In Florida, District Judge Robert L. Hinkle denied a motion to issue a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to block the Oct. 7 deadline and extend registration another 10 days.
Workers, community members and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, N.C., Sept. 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The suit was initially filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida Tuesday by multiple civil rights groups — the League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund and the Florida chapter of the NAACP — against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd. It alleged the failure to extend the deadline places an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.
They alleged the registration deadline also favors Florida voters unaffected by the hurricanes.
Civil rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, alleging the failure to extend the deadline places an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests seeking to extend the voter registration deadline in Florida are anything but uncommon, stating they “are routinely denied.” In Georgia, however, Torchinsky predicted extending the voter registration deadline would have made little difference, if any, given the state’s registration rate.
Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic political commentator, and Greta Bedekovics, associate director of Democracy Policy at the left-wing Center for American Progress, both specifically targeted DeSantis and Kemp.
“It seems like Republican governors Kemp and DeSantis are trying to play partisan politics and prevent people from exercising their voting rights in the wake of these tragic natural disasters,” Shroff told Fox News Digital.
“However, I’m not sure that will be the case this time because when you look at urban centers like Tampa, they’ve been trending red in recent years.”
“Governors in states like Georgia and Florida have issued emergency policy orders in the past, expanding voting and registration options in the aftermath of a hurricane, including during the 2022 election cycle. There is no reason that cannot be similarly done this year,” Bedekovics told Fox News Digital.
Mark Ard, director of external affairs for the Florida Department of State, cheered Judge Hinkle’s decision, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that Florida’s voter registration system has been operating around the clock since the 2022 election, giving voters ample time to register to vote.
“The Department of State and supervisors of elections across the state noticed and published the Oct. 7, 2024, date. The state has a substantial interest in maintaining deadlines created by the legislature,” the statement said. “We’re happy to see that the court ruled for the state of Florida by recognizing the substantial state interest in maintaining the voter registration deadline and denying the plaintiffs’ attempt to alter Florida law.”
The roof of Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Cecile M. Scoon, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, a plaintiff in the case, expressed disappointment in the ruling, saying the lawsuits are not politically motivated.
“We’ve been bringing those kind of lawsuits for years. So, how is it political?” Swoon told Fox News Digital. “Before any of the parties were running for office, we were bringing these lawsuits.
“So, we have a history of being concerned about voters, regardless of how they vote. And, frankly, I do a lot of voter registration, and a lot of people that, when I work hard to get voter registration, many of them, probably more than 50%, are registering to vote for Trump. They say so.”
Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests seeking to extend the voter registration deadline in Florida are anything but uncommon. (iStock )
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Fox News Digital also spoke with Chad Ennis, vice president of the conservative nonprofit Honest Elections Project, who noted that several of the lawsuits were filed close to the state’s voter registration deadline, saying the judges who declined to extend the registration period made “the right rulings given the time frame.”
“I hate to say it is politically motivated, although the left always wants voter registration up until the day of the election,” Ennis said. “In a lot of cases, during COVID, they used COVID as an excuse to change deadlines and, unfortunately, they also tried to use the hurricanes to change the deadlines here.”
Leslie Marshall, a Democratic strategist, told Fox News Digital she thinks the denial to extend voter registration could actually negatively affect Republicans come November.
“Because this race is so close and because Donald Trump and Republicans have made, not gains with women, but they have made gains with African Americans — specifically, male African Americans — they may be shooting themselves in the foot with this ruling,” Marshall said.
Various voting rights groups in the states most affected by the storms have asked to extend voter registration deadlines after the storms. (Bill Ingram/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network via Reuters)
On the other hand, Democrats in South Carolina were successful in their legal maneuvers after the South Carolina Democratic Party (SCDP) sued the South Carolina Elections Commission, and a circuit court judge ruled to extend the registration deadline to Oct. 14.
“We are pleased the voter registration deadline has been extended. This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an issue of the public good and ensuring the right to vote is protected for everyone,” said SCDP Chair Christale Spain.
South Carolina Election Commission public information officer John Michael Catalano said the commission was “able to comply with the order with minimal impact to election administration. We don’t anticipate this causing any issues for voters during early voting or on Election Day.”
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key Wednesday night, leaving around 3.2 million people in Florida alone without power by Thursday afternoon. Milton came in as a Category 3 storm, just a few weeks after Hurricane Helene battered parts of Florida before devastating North Carolina.
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Southeast
Atlanta-area police blast parents over vodka martini packed in school lunch: ‘That is NOT apple juice’
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An Atlanta-area police department issued a blunt notice to parents after officers claimed a child brought a vodka-based beverage to school — tucked beside Doritos in a packed lunch.
The City of South Fulton Police Department sounded off about the incident in a now-viral Facebook post, warning parents to “CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX.”
“Say Twin… Before you send them babies off to school… CHECK. THE. LUNCHBOX. Because why are we getting reports of juice boxes sitting next to… Cutwater margaritas??” the department wrote.
Officials also shared a photo of the alleged lunchbox, containing what appears to be a child’s lunch, Doritos and a Cutwater Lemon Drop Martini.
The police department shared a photo of a Cutwater canned cocktail in a lunchbox. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
“That is NOT Capri Sun. That is NOT Apple Juice. That is a whole ‘Parent had a long night’ starter pack,” the department wrote. “Now little Johnny done pulled up to 3rd period talking about: ‘Who want fruit snacks?’ knowing good and well he got a Lemon Drop Martini in the zipper pocket.”
Cutwater Lemon Drop Martinis, as found in the lunchbox, are 11% ABV ready-to-drink cocktails made with vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and natural flavors.
They come in 12-ounce cans, similar in appearance to a soda can.
The City of South Fulton Police Department issued a statement after the apparent mishap. (City of South Fulton Police Department via Facebook)
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The department said it understands mornings can be hectic, but issued a stern notice to parents to “TIGHTEN UP.”
“Your child shouldn’t be the only one in the cafeteria with a beverage that requires an ID,” authorities wrote. “If it says 12% ABV… it does NOT belong next to a PB&J.”
Officials also provided a “quick parent checklist,” with items including: “Homework,” “Lunch packed,” and “Alcoholic beverages.”
Boxes of Cutwater Tiki Rum Mai Tai and Strawberry Margarita canned cocktails. (Gado/Getty Images)
“Check the lunchbox before the Fulton County Schools Police resource officers gotta do inventory at recess,” the department added.
It is unclear if any parents or students were disciplined in relation to the mix-up.
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Fulton County Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The City of South Fulton, Georgia, is a rapidly growing municipality located about 20 minutes from Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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Southeast
Federal prosecutor admits ‘extraordinary’ timing in Abrego Garcia smuggling case charges
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A federal prosecutor acknowledged Thursday that the decision to charge Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia two years after a routine traffic stop was “extraordinary” while defending the human smuggling case as legally justified.
Abrego Garcia, 31, has become a flash point in the national immigration debate since last March, when he was deported to El Salvador in violation of a 2019 court order in what Trump administration officials acknowledged was an “administrative error.”
The Supreme Court later ruled that the administration had to work to bring him back to the U.S.
After returning in June, Abrego Garcia was taken into federal custody in Nashville and detained on human smuggling charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee.
He has pleaded not guilty and is seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura, left, are accompanied by Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, right, of We Are Casa, as they leave the federal courthouse, Thursday, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A 2019 court order prevents Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador after an immigration judge determined he faced danger from a gang that had threatened his family. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager and has been under the supervision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Abrego Garcia was accused in court records of repeated domestic violence against his wife, who alleged multiple incidents of physical abuse in protective order filings. She later withdrew the protective order request and has defended her husband publicly.
The Department of Homeland Security has also said he was living in the U.S. illegally and has alleged ties to MS-13, disputing portrayals of him as simply a “Maryland man.” His attorneys have denied the gang allegations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol body camera footage from when Abrego Garcia was pulled over for speeding shows a calm exchange with officers. While officers discussed suspicions of smuggling among themselves — noting there were nine passengers in the vehicle — Abrego Garcia was issued only a warning.
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A woman holds a sign in support of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in front of the U.S. District Court in Nashville. (Getty Images )
First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, who was acting U.S. attorney in April 2025, testified Thursday that his decision to charge Abrego Garcia was based on the evidence.
“I had previously prosecuted several human smuggling cases,” McGuire said, noting that after seeing video of the traffic stop, “I was immediately struck by how similar what was being depicted in the body cam was to those investigations.”
McGuire said Abrego Garcia’s vehicle belonged to someone with “a human smuggling background” and added that the route was “suspicious.”
“It was a large number of individuals traveling in one SUV with a driver who spoke for the group. No one had luggage… the car had Texas plates… the route was suspicious,” McGuire said.
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived at the federal courthouse, Thursday, for a hearing on whether the charges against him should be dismissed. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
During cross-examination, McGuire acknowledged that the timing of the charges, coming so long after the traffic stop, was “extraordinary.”
He said he had not previously been aware of the traffic stop but reiterated that nobody in the Trump administration, including the White House or the Department of Justice, pressured him to seek the indictment.
When asked about whether he might have felt pressure to prosecute the case, McGuire said, “I’m not going to do something that is wrong to keep my job.”
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia, right, and his brother Cesar Abrego Garcia, center, arrive at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
McGuire also said timing factored into charging Abrego Garcia since he was being held in El Salvador, and he did not want the indictment to go public before all senior officials were briefed on the matter.
“I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a controversial matter,” McGuire said.
U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw did not make a ruling Thursday and said he would wait to receive post-hearing briefs from attorneys by March 5 before determining whether another hearing is necessary.
Crenshaw previously found some evidence that the prosecution “may be vindictive” and that prior statements by Trump administration officials “raise cause for concern.”
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Thursday’s court appearance came after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from re-arresting Abrego Garcia into federal immigration custody on Feb. 17.
Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.
“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.
The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted.
“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.
The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.
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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.
“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.
Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021.
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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
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