VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. _ On the final day to register to vote in Virginia for the November election, the state's voter registration database went down for several hours.
Crews inadvertently cut a Verizon fiber cable overnight while working on a roadside utilities project off Route 10 in Chester, according to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency. It affected data circuits and virtual private network connectivity for multiple state agencies, including the citizen's portal for the Department of Elections, multiple local registrar's offices, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Virginia Employment Commission and others. Just before 2 p.m., the system was working again, according to the city of Virginia Beach's Twitter account.
The severed cable near the Commonwealth Enterprise Solutions Center, which is VITA's headquarters, meant that 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 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People requested a 72-hour deadline extension for voter registration after the system is restored. Three Northern Virginia members of Congress, Rep. Don Beyer, Rep. Gerry Connolly and Rep. Jennifer Wexton, all Democrats, also called for a similar extension.
"It's so many people that are still wanting to register and that would give everyone plenty of time if they tried and tried and tried," said Robert Barnette, the president of the state NAACP conference.
The organization felt 72 hours was enough of an extension.
"This is a very important election and the NAACP believes everyone should be given a chance to register if they are not registered and be able to cast a vote because this is such an important election that every voice should be heard," he said.
The governor's office has not responded to the request, Barnette said.
.jpg?w=600)
