Right call: Judge rules to extend voter registration until Wednesday

A state judge ruled Friday that voter registration in counties in eastern North Carolina affected by the flooding spawned by Hurricane Matthew should be extended into this week.

He made the right call.

North Carolina's state Board of Elections executive director had earlier declined to extend the deadline, which had been Friday. We think politics had more to do with the director's decision than anything else. The director is a Republican, and the lawsuit filed to extend the registration period was filed by Democrats.

The deadline is now Wednesday in 36 eastern counties declared disaster areas by the federal government.

We think that is fair. Many people who had waited until the last minute to register were unable to reach their county board of elections because of roads cut off by the flooding. This gives them once last chance to register to cast a ballot in the all-important Nov. 8 election.

A judge in Georgia made a similar ruling.

Voters cannot now say that they didn't have every opportunity to register before early voting, which begins Thursday in North Carolina.

Published in Editorials on October 17, 2016 9:59 AM