Given the severity of Hurricane Matthew, including the ordered evacuations of 1.5 million people, People For the American Way Foundation is calling on Florida Governor Rick Scott to reconsider his stance against extending the voter registration deadline for Floridians. People For the American Way Foundation Director of Outreach and Public Engagement Diallo Brooks issued the following statement:

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by Hurricane Matthew. As Floridians are rightly focused entirely on emergency preparedness and response, we call on Florida Governor Rick Scott to move the voter registration deadline. Scott should stop playing dangerous, partisan games with the storm that is currently battering Florida and extend the state’s voter registration deadline as his counterpart in South Carolina did.

“Voting is the most significant way most Americans participate in our democracy. For centuries, Americans have fought for the right to vote, and we continue to fight hard for that right today.

“There should be no need for a fight here: In the face of what could be one of the worst hurricanes in Florida’s history, there’s simply no justification for denying a person the right to vote through refusing to move the voter registration deadline, which would ensure that all who would like to exercise their right to vote can have the opportunity to register to vote.”

People For the American Way Foundation is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

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