Judge Ends AZ Voter Registration Extension; New Deadline Thursday

ARIZONA — A new federal ruling has halted Arizona's extended voter registration deadline, ending it two weeks earlier than planned.

Anyone who has not yet registered to vote will have until 11:59 p.m. Thursday to do so, according to a ruling from a judge in the Ninth District of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The ruling reversed an Oct. 5 decision that extended the voter registration deadline until Oct. 23 due to the challenges in registering voters during the coronavirus pandemic. Oct. 23 will remain the last day Arizonans can request an early ballot.

The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee appealed the ruling, which Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs later joined.

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel celebrated the new deadline on Twitter, alleging that the extension would have weakened the integrity of Arizona's election. She also said that Democrats wanted the extension because they saw Republicans outperforming them in voter registration.

"We want every eligible Arizonan to vote, which is why we have spent years registering thousands of them," she tweeted. "But we will not stand idly by while Democrats try to weaponize the courts for political gain!"

In the Oct. 5 decision, Justice Steven P. Logan said that the coronavirus pandemic made it more difficult for voters to register in-person and that many in Arizona lack the internet access needed to register online.

"Registering to vote has never been easier for some, though others are not so fortunate. Ballot access is an extremely important right, and it has been restricted during this unprecedented time," Logan wrote.

Mi Familia Vota and the Arizona Coalition for Change, the two advocacy groups that brought the lawsuit against Hobbs, had argued that approximately 65,000 voters could be registered from now until Oct. 27, the deadline they initially sought, and that 31 states have voter registration deadlines after Arizona.

In a news release, the Arizona Coalition for Change said it was disappointed in the ruling but still considered its efforts a win for democracy.

"While we are disappointed in this ruling, we are proud that we stood up for the fundamental right to vote and that we won a 10 day extension of the voter registration deadline," the organization said in a statement. "As a result of this victory for our democracy, tens of thousands of more voters in Arizona will be able to participate in the upcoming November election."