NORFOLK, Va. _ On the last day to sign up to cast a ballot in the Nov. 3 election, Virginia's voter registration system broke down Tuesday, triggering statewide calls to extend the deadline.
As of Tuesday afternoon, extension requests came from Virginia representatives of the NAACP as well as Reps. Don Beyer, Gerry Connolly and Jennifer Wexton _ all Democrats from Northern Virginia _ and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
In a news conference, Gov. Ralph Northam said the deadline is set in state code and he doesn't have the authority to change it, but that he would "support a court-ordered extension of the deadline."
"We have been exploring all of our options," Northam said, without offering specifics.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a civil rights advocacy group, said it planned to file litigation Tuesday evening "to secure relief for those who have been affected."
The group sued Virginia for a similar outage four years ago and won. At the time, it was representing the voter advocacy group New Virginia Majority, which sought an extension after voters struggled to register online. A federal judge ordered officials to reopen voter registration just long enough to make up for computer glitches that occurred in the hours leading up to the deadline.
Tuesday's outage happened when a utilities crew accidentally cut a Verizon fiber cable overnight off Route 10 in Chester, according to state technology officials. It interrupted internet access for state government agencies, Northam said, including the Department of Elections. The system was back to normal by 4 p.m.
The outage meant anyone who wanted to vote early in person while the system was down had to cast a provisional ballot. Anyone who wanted to register to vote had to do so in person, said Christine Lewis, the deputy voter registrar in Virginia Beach.
The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP called for a 72-hour deadline extension for voter registration.
"It's so many people that are still wanting to register," said Robert Barnette, who leads the NAACP's efforts in Virginia. "That would give everyone plenty of time if they tried and tried and tried. ... This is a very important election (and) every voice should be heard."
For more information on registration, go to elections.virginia.gov/voterInfo.
