Next month’s election may seem insignificant right now to many Floridians as they brace for the destruction of Hurricane Matthew, but the state’s role as a pivotal swing state adds a political dimension to the deadly storm.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott emphasized today that the state will not push back its voter registration deadline, which is four days away on Oct. 11.
“We’ve had plenty of time to register,” the Republican governor, who is actively supporting GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, told ABC News’ “Good Morning America” today.
“Look, this is politics. We just, right now I’m focused on getting this done. I’m focused on saving everybody’s life. The biggest issue for me is I want everyone to survive this.”
Georgia and Florida already had the same deadline for registration forms sent by mail, and South Carolina joined them after pushing its deadline back to Oct. 11 from Oct. 9.
But because of Florida’s potential significance in this presidential election as a battleground state, its decision not to push back the deadlines could affect the number of people who are able to vote from now, for early voting, until Election Day on Nov. 8.
The Clinton campaign called for an extension of the deadline Thursday.
“Our hope would be that a little bit more time will be given for people who were expecting to be able to get registered before the election, and we certainly expect that the governor and local officials will make that possible,” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said.
But Mook added that the campaign was focused on the safety of Floridians.
“Our first priority on Hurricane Matthew is that people are safe,” he said. “We have been doing everything we can on social media and email list to make sure that all Floridians heed the warnings of public officials that are saying this could be a very deadly storm.”
Trump campaign officials issued a prepared statement Thursday sending “thoughts and prayers” to those in the storm’s path and thanking local law enforcement and first responders. The statement makes no mention of voter registration deadlines, and the topic did not come up at a town-hall style meeting he attended in New Hampshire Thursday night.