Jason Delgado
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday was among the many political figures to react to Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ decision to extend the Florida voter registration deadline.
“Florida — today’s decision to extend the voter registration deadline is a win for our democracy,” Biden tweeted, adding: “This election is too important to sit out.”
Biden’s reaction and others come after DeSantis and Secretary of State Laurel Lee announced voter registration would reopen until 7 p.m. Tuesday after the online portal’s crash on Monday.
The technical woes drew attention from both sides of the aisle including Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who earlier Tuesday called for registration to reopen for at least 24 hours in a letter.
“While Gov. Ron DeSantis has extended the voter registration deadline, the new 7:00 PM deadline forces Floridians to scramble to register, and that’s only if they see the news,” Fried, the state’s lone elected Democrat tweeted after the announcement.
On top of online applications, registration is reopened until 7 p.m. at county supervisor of elections offices, local tax collectors’ offices and Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ driver’s license offices. Paper applications postmarked by Tuesday will also be accepted.
Broward County Rep. Chip LaMarca, a Republican, said the decision to extend the deadline was, “the right thing to do.”
Notably, the Department of State launched the voter registration website in 2017. In October 2018, the site experienced difficulties the day before the registration deadline, and did so again in March after the presidential primary.
The ACLU of Florida were among the groups calling for a registration deadline extension. They also noted the website’s shaky history.
“Florida’s online voter registration system has a suspect history of crashing just before key deadlines,” the organization tweeted. “[Gov. DeSantis] & [Lee] knew the website was faulty and did nothing.”
The Department of State launched the voter registration website in 2017. In October 2018, the site experienced difficulties the day before the registration deadline, and did so again in March following the presidential primary.
Fried in her letter to DeSantis and Lee said the state should have a backup plan.
“The State should have a contingency plan in place for an error of this magnitude, which may have prevented thousands of Floridians from exercising their right to vote in the coming election,” Fried said. “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.”
