Perry Asked to Extend Voter Registration Deadline for Ike Victims

Two weeks after Hurricane Ike slammed into the upper Texas coast, things are still far from normal in the Houston-Galveston-Beaumont area, and several activist groups are asking Governor Perry to extend the deadline for citizens of the hard hit areas to register to vote in the November election, 1200 WOAI news reports.

“People in the Houston area really aren’t thinking about registering to vote right now,” said Fred Lewis of the non-partisan group Houston Votes.

The registration deadline is October 6th.

The question is whether the governor has the power to do this. Perry’s office says the only way the governor can extend the voter registration period is if the individual counties formally request it, and so far, no county has.

Lewis says the governor has the power to extend the registration deadline on his own.

Several regions, especially in Galveston, Chambers, and Orange Counties, are still suffering from widespread power and water loss, and the time when these services will be restored is uncertain.