Virginia’s governor is asking a federal court to extend the state’s voter registration deadline after a computer crash on Sunday and Monday prevented as many as tens of thousands from registering.
(Gov. Terry) McAuliffe made the request one day after a civil rights group filed a lawsuit to extend the deadline, arguing that the state’s technological failures should not deprive citizens of their right to vote.
“Let’s let them get in to vote,” McAuliffe (D) said. “I think it’s a great thing for democracy.”
Since the last presidential debate Virginia switched from a paper-registration format to an online-registration format. Until this year the most voters to register in a day was 2,200. That changed dramatically this year.
That single-day online registration record has been broken three times this year in response to social-media campaigns urging Virginians to register: 8,000 signed up one day in February, ahead of the deadline to register for the primary; 17,000 on Sept. 23, ahead of National Voter Registration Day; 21,000 managed to do so on Monday, despite the day’s technical issues.
This would be a good time for Virginia, and the other 49 states, to work out the kinks in any voting procedures so come Nov. 8 the country doesn’t have a flashback to the 2000 presidential election.
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