TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) -- Voting rules changed for impacted Florida counties after hurricane Helene, now the question is, will rules be adjusted after hurricane Milton?
There are 21 days until Election Day, and as the state continues efforts to recover from two back-to-back hurricanes, the governor’s 7-page executive order on voting rules that changed after Helene is still in place.
Issued on Oct. 3, Gov. Ron DeSantis's executive order relaxed a number of voting rules, from polling sites being changed or merged, to mail-in ballots being sent to different addresses than the locations residents registered with.
The order also allows voters in areas that cannot receive mail due to storm damage to be able to pick up their ballots at post offices servicing their ZIP codes.
But even with the rule changes, voting rights groups like the League of Women Voters of Florida believe the governor missed one important date, to extend the voter registration deadline.
At a press conference before hurricane Milton made landfall on Oct. 7, DeSantis shared that voters still had time to register to vote before Milton hit and folks had to evacuate.
“If I have to do a similar executive order like I did in Ian or Helene, we're happy to do it, but we are not going to change any registration deadline," DeSantis said.
And as of Monday, that statement stands true. News Channel 8 reached out to the Governor's Office, and his team shared that the Helene executive order still stands.
Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer shared that the Florida Supervisor of Election Statewide Association is meeting on similar concerns.
“Our executive staff has been meeting, talking to the affected counties, to see if there is some other relief that they may be able to request so I would expect there may be further action at some point," Latimer said.
Those still searching for answers on voting in Florida after both hurricanes Helene and Milton can find information on the respective county elections websites below:
- Sarasota County
- Manatee County
- Pinellas County
- Hillsborough County
- Pasco County
- Hernando County
- Citrus County
- Polk County
- Hardee County
- DeSoto County