The Department of Elections’ portalto register to vote was offline for much of Tuesday after a fiber optic cable was cut during construction.
It happened on the last day of voter registration, prompting calls to extend the registration period.
In a press conference Tuesday Governor Ralph Northam said that he was exploring options to extend the deadline but it appeared he didn’t have the authority to do so. “That is up to the courts," Northam said. "And I would support a court ordered extension of the deadline.”
On Tuesday, the fiber optic line was cut during a Chesterfield County roadside utilities project, near the Virginia Information Technologies Agency’s headquarters. Services to the Department of Elections and other state agencies was restored around 3:30 pm.
Rebecca Green is a professor at the College of William and Mary Law School. She said that a court would probably consider that this was outside of voters’ control and the absence of normal registration activities because of COVID-19. “That kind of activity isn’t happening this year so it seems like an even more important role that the online system is playing.”
In 2016 a federal court extended the registration period in Virginia. A civil rights group had sued after the registration website crashed. Tuesday night, the same group filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for a 48 hour extension of Virginia's deadline. A hearing is scheduled for 9:00 Wednesday morning in Richmond. Attorney General Mark Herring, representing the state in the lawsuit, said he does not opposed the requested 48 hour extension.
Last week in Florida the voter registration deadline was also extended after a website crash.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.