Florida extends voter registration deadline to Tuesday evening after website glitches

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) extended the state’s voter registration deadline through 7 p.m. Tuesday evening after technical issues plagued the state website on Monday, the cutoff date.

“This morning I met with Governor DeSantis to brief him on the status of the online voter registration system and the difficulties we encountered last night due to unprecedented volume and traffic to our website,” Secretary of State Laurel Lee (R) said in a statement.

“We are working with local Supervisors of Elections and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to ensure that all eligible registrants have the ability submit a voter registration application by 7:00 p.m. this evening,” she added.

Lee said the department was also working to determine whether the glitches were the result of human error or a deliberate attack.

“We’re exploring all options to ensure that all eligible registrants have the ability to register to vote and will work with our state and federal law-enforcement partners to ensure this was not a deliberate act against the voting process,” she said.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) called on DeSantis to lengthen the deadline by at least 24 hours in a letter earlier Tuesday.

“The deadline exists for a reason — and it is the right of every person in Florida who chooses to register to vote, to do so up until that deadline,” Fried said, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Lee tweeted Sunday evening that the site had seen delays of up to 15 minutes, citing the number of users on the site at once. Malfunctions persisted as late as 8 p.m., according to the Sentinel.

OVR is online and working. Due to high volume, for about 15 minutes, some users experienced delays while trying to register. We have increased capacity. You can register until midnight tonight.
Thank you to those who immediately brought this to our attention.

— Laurel M. Lee (@FLSecofState) October 5, 2020

The extension in the critical battleground state of Florida comes less than a month away from the Nov. 3 election that has been upended by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a bombshell report regarding President Trump’s taxes and the coronavirus that has lead to the death of over 200,000 domestically, impacted the economy and ripped through the White House. 

Trump and first lady Melania Trump were diagnosed with the virus late last week following the first presidential debate on Tuesday. 

Trump was hospitalized over the weekend and released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening. His campaign announced today that the president was planning to attend the next presidential debate where he will face off again against Democratic nominee Joe Biden in person despite his COVID-19 diagnosis. The debate is set to take place in Miami. 

A poll released Tuesday showed Biden and Trump tied in the Sunshine State, each garnering 45 percent of the vote in the survey. Six percent of participants were undecided about who they would vote for.