Virginia Voter Registration Deadline Extended After Website Shut Down

Virginia residents will now have more time to register to vote in the 2020 election.

The state's deadline to register both in-person and online will now be 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, WAVY.com reports.

On Wednesday, a lawsuit was heard in court to extend Virginia's voter registration deadline after the state's Department of Election's online portal was shut down for more than five hours on Tuesday, which was the initial last day for registration, WAVY reports.

A group led by the New Virginia Majority Educational Fund filed the lawsuit, which pushed to extend the deadline through October 15, on Tuesday. John Adrian Gibney Jr. approved the extension and asked the Department of Elections to issue a news release on the updated status before 11:30 a.m., WAVY reports.

"The decision to extend the registration deadline was the right thing is 2016, and it’s the right one now," New Virginia Majority said in a statement issued to WAVY. "It’s unfortunate that an accident caused a system wide failure, but Virginia voters should not have to bear the burden and lose their franchise due to a technology error through no fault of their own, said Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority. “Virginians are excited to vote in this election as evidenced by the high turnout during the last several weeks of early voting. We encourage every eligible Virginia to check their registration status and register to vote.”

Former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe also told WAVY that extending voter registration was the right decision to make.

“With the new deadline to register to vote on Thursday night, it is important every eligible Virginian is registered to vote by the new deadline. There is too much on the line in this election and we need every Virginians’ voice heard,” McAuliffe said.

Virginia residents can register to vote online through the Virginia Department of Elections' website here: https://www.elections.virginia.gov/.

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