US judge orders Virginia to extend voter registration through Friday

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters

20 OCT 2016 AT 13:09 ET

A federal judge on Thursday ordered Virginia to reopen its voter registration window and allow residents to continue to sign up through midnight Friday, after its online registration portal crashed earlier this week.

U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by the activist New Virginia Education Fund, which complained that the state’s online voter registration portal had worked erratically in the days leading up to the state’s initial Monday deadline to register.

The lawsuit argued that the problems risked illegally denying thousands of people the right to vote in the Nov. 8 election.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe this year restored the right to vote to thousands of ex-felons, a move seen as potentially tipping what had been a traditional Republican stronghold in Democrats’ favor.

-snip-



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/us-judge-orders-virginia-to-extend-voter-registration-through-friday/

[Dustlawyer]

1. Hard to believe that America has sunk this low that you have to file suit against the state because

you want to register to vote. The fact that some states are trying to block its citizens from registering to vote or just voting itself. It used to be that ANY AMERICAN would call that un-American.

[toddwv]

2. At least in this case

it seems to be mostly a matter of the legality that was answered by the court.

“I am pleased that the court has agreed with the request to extend Virginia’s voter registration period after unprecedented web traffic prevented many people from completing their registrations online before the original deadline,” McAuliffe, a Democrat, said in a statement on Thursday. “The Commonwealth will fully comply with the court’s order and extend our registration process online, in person and through the mail.”

[pat_k]

3. kick 'n' rec