Dave Berman

FLORIDA TODAY

Those hoping to cast a ballot in the Nov. 8 in one of the most closely watched presidential elections in recent memory - now have just a few hours to do so before its too late.

A federal judge last week extended the deadline for Florida residents, giving citizens until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18.

Potential voters who miss that deadline, can also download an application from the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections office, sign and date it, then drop it off in the mail to be post-dated for Tuesday, Oct. 18th. It must be postmarked with Tuesday's date, officials say.

The deadline was the second extension granted since Florida Gov. Rick Scott refusal to allow the deadline to be reset as a result of Hurricane Matthew passage off the Florida coast.

Early voting in the state will take place from Oct. 29 through Sunday Nov. 6.

The extensions came after a lawsuit was filed by the Florida Democratic Party against Gov. Rick Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner, who is Florida's chief election officer.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker granted a temporary restraining order, extending the deadline until at least 5 p.m. Wednesday, citing the impact of Hurricane Matthew.

"It has been suggested that the issue of extending the voter registration deadline is about politics. Poppycock," Walker wrote. "This case is about the right of aspiring eligible voters to register and to have their votes counted. Nothing could be more fundamental to our democracy."

Walker, a Tallahassee-based judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said that, "if aspiring eligible Florida voters are barred from registering to vote, then those voters are stripped of one of our most precious freedoms. This isn’t golf. There are no mulligans. Once the voter registration deadline passes, there can be no do-over and no redress.”

His ruling also drew parallels between the voter registration deadline and Hurricane Matthew.

"Just five days before that deadline ... Hurricane Matthew bore down and unleashed its wrath on the state of Florida. Life-threatening winds and rain forced many Floridians to evacuate or, at a minimum, hunker down in shelters or their homes," Walker wrote. "Like Hurricane Matthew, the voter registration deadline also approached and bore down on the state of Florida.

"Citing the impending hurricane, many urged the governor of Florida, defendant Rick Scott, to extend the deadline. But defendant Scott demurred, asserting instead that Floridians had other avenues to ensure that their right to vote was protected. Plaintiff brought this case, arguing that defendants' refusal to extend the deadline will unconstitutionally burden the rights of Florida voters."

Walker said in his order that more than 100,000 Floridians were likely to register to vote in the final week before the deadline, but many were hampered by closed government offices and suspended U.S. Postal Service operations.

"Hurricane Matthew not only forced many of those voters to evacuate the state, but also foreclosed the only methods of registering to vote: in person or by mail," Walker wrote. "Because those aspiring eligible voters could not register, they could not vote in the upcoming election. As a result, Florida’s statutory framework completely disenfranchises thousands of voters, and amounts to a severe burden on the right to vote. These voters have already had their lives (and, quite possibly, their homes) turned upside down by Hurricane Matthew. They deserve a break, especially one that is mandated by the United States Constitution. Ensuring that they can exercise their constitutional right to vote thus promotes the public interest."

Here are eight things you need to know, as the election campaign has entered its final month:

Why was Tuesday the original deadline?

It's set by state law, which designates 29 days before the general election — also known as the "book-closing" date — as the deadline to register to vote or change party affiliation prior to general election. With Election Day on Nov. 8 this year, the book-closing date was Oct. 11.

How do I register to vote?

You can fill out a voter registration form in person at a Brevard County supervisor of elections office or fill it out online by going to www.Votebrevard.com, then clicking on the "register to vote" tab.

If you fill it out online, though, state law requires that you print it out, and sign your name. Then, you would need to either drop it off at a supervisor of elections office or mail it in. Mailed-in applications must be postmarked by the deadline date.

If you mail it in, Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott recommends that you drop it off at a post office, rather than putting it into a mailbox, to assure the postmark is no later than the deadline date, as she is required by law to reject applications not postmarked by then.

Where are the Brevard County supervisor of elections offices?

These are the four supervisor of elections offices:

Melbourne: 1515 Sarno Road

Palm Bay: 450 Cogan Drive SE

Titusville: 400 South St.

Viera: 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Building C

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How many people are registered to vote so far?

As of Monday, there were 406,613 registered voters in Brevard County.

Lori Scott says that represents about 93 percent of the Brevard population that would be eligible to vote — an "extremely high" percentage, compared with many other Florida counties.

"Brevard has great voters who are very active in our government," she said.

Brevard's registered voters include 171,487 Republicans, 129,812 Democrats, 14,580 members of minor political parties and 90,734 who registered with no political party affiliation.

When is the deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot?

Assuming you're registered to vote, that deadline is six days before the election — Nov. 2 for this year's Nov. 8 election.

But Scott said she has been getting lots of requests for mail ballots in recent days.

The office will be sending out its first batch of vote-by-mail ballots to domestic voters on Tuesday to about 99,000 people who have requested them so far.

On Sept. 23, Scott's office sent about 3,014 mail ballots to military and overseas voters.

Scott said Brevard's voters "are increasingly taking advantage of making their mailbox their ballot box."

In the Aug. 30 primary, for example, 43.5 percent of the 99,062 ballots cast were done through vote-by-mail ballots.

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What is voter turnout expected to be like this year in Brevard County?

Scott said she anticipates that it will be similar to 2008, the last presidential election year in which there was no incumbent.

In that election, 82.5 percent of Brevard's registered voters cast ballots.

How can I find a sample ballot?

Sample ballots for the Nov. 8 election are available online at www.VoteBrevard.com.

Voters can preview and print their ballot for the election directly from the home page by going to the "2016 general election sample ballots" area of the home page, then following the links.

Printed sample ballots will be mailed to all registered voters before early, in-person voting starts on Oct. 24 at 10 sites throughout the county.

The online version" of the sample ballot "is nice for those voters who want to get an early preview of their specific ballot," Scott said in a statement announcing the availability of the sample ballots online.

Where can I get more information about voting?

While on the VoteBrevard.com website, voters can also verify their voter registration status and party affiliation; request a mail ballot; get a map to their polling location; and review early voting locations.

Or call the Brevard County supervisor of elections office at 321-633-2124.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday. com, on Twitter at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54