WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement calling on Florida Governor Rick Scott to extend the state’s deadline for voter registration for individuals displaced by Hurricane Matthew. The deadline arrives on Tuesday, October 11. South Carolina, another state impacted by the hurricane, has already extended its voter registration deadline.

“The fundamental right of all Americans to vote defines our nation as a democracy,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “Yet several years after the Supreme Court undermined important provisions of the Voting Rights Act, this critical function of our democracy has already been imperiled, particularly for people of color who are disproportionately – and intentionally – disenfranchised by restrictions on voting such as voter identification law and limits on early voting. In 2012, 50,000 people in Florida registered to vote in the final five days of registration. Voters this year should have the same opportunity to participate in the election”

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the Committee on Ethics and the Committee on Small Business in the House of Representatives, proudly represents Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Park Slope, Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.