PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and two advocacy groups have agreed to put an early end to an extension of Arizona’s voter registration deadline that was ordered by a judge after pandemic restrictions led to a decrease in people signing up to vote.

If the deal announced Tuesday is accepted by an appeals court, voter registration in Arizona would end late Friday night, instead of on Oct. 23. Hobbs, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and GOP groups had asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to put the ruling on hold while they appealed it.

Arizona has recorded more than 43,000 new registrations in the week since the deadline was extended. A filing made jointly by Hobbs’ office and the advocacy groups that sought the extension said anyone whose registration is received by election officials by late Friday night can vote in the Nov. 3 general election.

The state’s original registration deadline was Oct. 5, but U.S. District Judge Steven Logan had extended it to Oct. 23 after finding the pandemic has undermined election integrity by preventing a portion of the population from registering to vote and concluding that pushing back the deadline would let the voices of those people be heard.

In arguing for the extension, the advocacy groups said its number of weekly registrations had plummeted because of the pandemic’s restrictions, though those figures have returned to almost the same level as before the pandemic.

Opponents had argued Arizona’s registration deadline — normally 29 days before election day — has been in place for 30 years and cited the state’s elections director as saying an extension could lead to administrative problems for elections officials and confusion for voters.

Hobbs, who as Arizona’s chief election officer was the target of the lawsuit seeking an extension, had previously said she wouldn’t appeal the decision, leading Brnovich to join the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee in appealing.

Hobbs has since reversed herself and is now appealing the ruling.

Brnovich’s office said people who have already completed registrations during the extension period should be kept on the rolls for the Nov. 3 election, but argued against providing a grace period of several days to let voters complete their registration. His office urged the appeals court to end the extension promptly.

“Arizona voters deserve certainty when it comes to the enforcement of our election laws," said Brnovich spokeswoman Katie Conner. "Unfortunately, the secretary of state cut a deal with a New York law firm that creates further chaos.”