TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge has denied a request by voter advocacy groups to extend the voter registration deadline in Florida.
What You Need To Know
- Federal judge rules against extending Florida voter registration
- Voter advocacy groups sued to give Floridians more time
- Hours before the deadline, Florida's voter registration website crashed
- BELOW: Read the full ruling
In a 29-page order released early Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said the “state failed its citizens.”
Walker went on the say that Florida is the place where we launched a man to the moon, but “Florida has failed to figure out how to run an election properly.”
On Monday, just hours before the midnight registration deadline, Florida’s voter website crashed amid heavy traffic. State officials extended the registration deadline to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Several voter advocacy groups filed a lawsuit seeking to give Floridians more time to register.
Some 40,000 people were able to register after the Tuesday extension, but the groups said more wanted to register but were unable.