A federal judge has turned down a request from civil rights groups in Florida to extend the deadline for voter registration in the state in the wake of devastation and evacuations caused by back-to-back hurricanes.

The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and NAACP Florida State Conference (FL NAACP) filed the lawsuit on Oct. 7, the registration deadline, in the Northern District of Florida. The action came after Gov. Ron DeSantis declined to extend the deadline, which took place between the approach of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The complaint argued that having major natural disasters occur around the deadline made it impossible for many Floridians to sign up to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Judge Robert Hinkle’s one-page decision on Oct. 8 simply said that the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to prevent state officials from enforcing the Oct. 7 deadline was denied.