Federal judge wants to know why Florida hasn't registered 25,000 people who applied to vote

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge wants to know why nearly 25,000 people who've applied to vote haven't been registered in Florida.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has asked state election officials to tell him during a Friday hearing about their efforts to verify voter registration applications.

Walker extended the voter registration deadline from Oct. 11 to Oct. 18 following the disruption caused by Hurricane Matthew. Democrats asked for the extension after Gov. Rick Scott turned down requests to move back the deadline.

During the extended period nearly 103,000 Floridians have been added to the voter rolls. But Walker noted Thursday that the number of applications processed has "slowed dramatically."

State officials acknowledge that they have nearly 25,000 applications still pending. But they say most of them have insufficient information or incorrect addresses.