Ahead of Hurricane Michael, Florida extends voter registration deadline

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Hurricane Michael strengthens to category 2

Janice Dean has your Hurricane Michael FoxCast for the Florida Panhandle.

Florida has extended its voter registration deadline as dozens of county offices closed Tuesday ahead of the impending dangerous hurricane.

The deadline for voter registration in Florida is 29 days before the election – or this year, Oct. 9. But by Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Rick Scott had declared a state of emergency in 35 counties as Hurricane Michael barreled towards the Florida Panhandle as a powerful storm.

With several county offices shuttered or closing early, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner instructed election supervisors to accept paper voter registration forms on the next day their offices open.

“This will ensure that each Supervisor of Elections Office has the same amount of days to register voters at their offices,” Detzner said in a letter to supervisors.

Floridians can still register to vote online, but the deadline for online registration is still Tuesday night.

VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES FOR EACH STATE

The Florida Democratic Party had called on Scott and Detzner to extend voter registration on Monday.

“The impending hurricane will adversely impact the ability of these eligible, but unregistered, individuals who may have waited until the last day in order to register to vote,” the party said. “These individuals may forego registering, in view of your warnings regarding the danger of the storm as well as County evacuations, the need to prepare, and both announced and anticipated evacuation orders.”

After Hurricane Florence wreaked havoc on the Carolinas last month, many counties issued an extension in voter registration deadlines.

HURRICANE MICHAEL DERAILS FLORIDA CAMPAIGNS WEEKS BEFORE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Hurricane Michael, churning over the Gulf of Mexico, is “intensifying and is threatening the Northeastern Gulf Wednesday as a major hurricane,” Fox News’ senior meteorologist Janice Dean said. It's expected to strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall.

Multiple candidates in Florida’s contentious statewide midterm elections have suspended campaigns ahead of the impending storm, including Scott, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis – the Democratic and Republican nominees, respectively – also pressed pause on their campaigns.

Gillum, the progressive mayor of Tallahassee, said he was returning home to help prepare the city. DeSantis said he was “redirecting” his campaign staff to help their communities and praised Scott’s “tremendous leadership” ahead of the hurricane.