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Washington, DC -- U.S. Representatives Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) today called for a court order to extend Virginia’s voter registration deadline following extended disruptions of the Virginia Department of Elections website on the final day of registration. Their statement came as the Virginia Information Technologies Agency said it could provide “no estimated time of restoration” to state technology services brought down by a severed fiber in Chester, Virginia.

They said:

"The shutdown of Virginia’s online voter registration threatens to prevent many Virginians from casting their ballots in the 2020 election. Three weeks before the election, nearly one million Virginians have already voted, which speaks to the importance voters across the Commonwealth attach to participating in this election. They must be given every opportunity to do so.

"It is imperative that the deadline for Virginians to register to vote be extended. We hope the courts will swiftly grant such an extension, and we hope they will take into account the disruptions to registration that have already occurred and the time that it will take to inform the public about new opportunities to register. Given these important factors, we believe a 72-hour registration extension after the Department of Elections online portal is restored would be appropriate."

A federal judge previously granted an extension to Virginia’s voter registration deadline in 2016 after heavy web traffic resulted in disruptions to the registration portal.

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