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Updated Oct 6, 2020 - Politics & Policy

DeSantis will extend voter registration as Florida investigates system crash

Marisa Fernandez
Boxes with ballots are seen at the Miami-Dade County Election Department as the vote-by-mail ballots are placed on to a U.S. Post Office truck to be delivered to voters

Boxes with ballots are seen at the Miami-Dade County Election Department. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Tuesday the state will extend the voter registration to 7 p.m. tonight after its online system crashed on Monday from an uptick in volume.

The big picture: The state is investigating the crash, which may have prevented thousands from registering before the original deadline, AP reports. Investigators are now working to determine if the crash was a "deliberate act."

  • Floridians can still register to vote online, at the elections office, a highway safety and motor vehicles’ driver’s license offices or any tax collector's branch office.

Why it matters: Florida is a key battleground state in November's election. Republicans have significantly cut into the Democrats' lead in Florida voter registration in recent months, per AP, putting pressure on an already close race.

What they're saying:

  • "During the last few hours, the RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov website was accessed by an unprecedented 1.1 million requests per hour. We will work with our state and federal law-enforcement partners to ensure this was not a deliberate act against the voting process," Secretary of State Laurel Lee said in a statement Tuesday.

Update: This story has been updated with Gov. DeSantis announcing that voter registration would be extended.

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