An ‘accidentally-cut cable’ brings down entire voter registration system in Virginia right before deadline to register
13 Oct, 2020 19:52
Virginia’s entire voter registration system has been felled by a rogue cable, according to the state’s info-tech agency, which blamed an “accidentally-cut” line for an outage that may stop procrastinators from voting altogether.
The ‘Citizen Portal’ that allows Virginian residents to register online to vote in the 2020 election was knocked out on Tuesday morning – the last day state residents were allowed to register, the Virginia Board of Elections has revealed, posting notices to its website and Twitter account.
The agency explained that it had been alerted by the Virginia Information Technology Agency that “a fiber cut near the Commonwealth Enterprise Solutions Center” during roadside maintenance was the culprit, sabotaging both “data circuits and [Virtual Private Network] connectivity” for “multiple agencies,” including the office in charge of registering voters.
While a spokeswoman for the Board of Elections attempted to assuage voters’ fears by telling reporters that Verizon techs were busily working to restore service, as of Tuesday afternoon, there was still no estimate “if, or when, the problem would be fixed,” according to multiple local media outlets.
Voters determined to register can still print and fill out a paper application, as long as the mailed form is postmarked Tuesday.
It’s not clear if there are plans to extend the voter registration deadline or if procrastinating would-be voters are just out of luck. Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax has called for an extension, but the Board of Elections has made no statement one way or the other.
Some counties warned that anyone attempting to vote early in person would be given a provisional ballot – an option which has in previous elections been equivalent to having one’s vote thrown into the trash. The fate of provisional ballots was not forgotten, and several took to social media to advise against settling for such a “solution.” Others warned the state that if they didn’t extend the registration deadline voluntarily, lawyers would be standing by to force their hand.
https://www.rt.com/usa/503400-virginia-voters-system-crash-deadline/