Forget to register to vote by Monday’s deadline? Or have problems trying to do it online? Well -- you’ll get a second chance. A federal judge has extended Virginia’s voter registration deadline to Friday.
Demand for online voter registration was so high Monday that the system crashed, preventing some people from registering at all.
A voter advocacy group sued state officials, saying the crash effectively denied people the right to vote. Thursday morning a judge agreed, granting an extension to midnight Friday.
In a statement Virginia’s Governor urged people to take advantage of that extra time sooner rather than later -- and to consider visiting a local registrar’s office or DMV to fill out the application on paper, instead of online.
Republican leaders say the issue was avoidable, and are calling for leadership change at the Department of Elections after November.
