CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 10/26/2023 1

Extending Voter Registration 

Because of a Website Crash 

New Virginia Majority Education Fund 

v. Virginia Department of Elections 

(Claude M. Hilton, 1:16-cv-1319) and New Virginia 

Majority Education Fund v. Virginia Department of 

Elections (John A. Gibney, Jr., 3:20-cv-801) (E.D. Va.) 

On the last day of voter registration in 2016, a commonwealth’s 

online registration website crashed, and commonwealth officials 

had no authority to extend the registration deadline as a remedy. 

Two organizations and two prospective voters filed a federal complaint, and the district judge granted a brief extension to voter registration, to which state officials agreed. Again in 2020, a federal 

district judge granted a registration extension because the website 

crashed on the last day of registration. 

Subject: Registration procedures. Topics: Registration 

procedures; voting technology. 

In 2016 and in 2020, Virginia’s voter-registration website crashed on the last 

day of registration, and Virginia’s election officials needed a court order to 

extend the registration deadline. 

2016 

Heavy use of Virginia’s online voter-registration site on Monday, October 

17, 2016, the deadline for the November 8 general election, caused the system 

to crash temporarily.1 On October 18, two organizations and two prospective 

voters who were unable to register because of the crash filed a federal complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia’s Alexandria courthouse against 

state election officials asking the court to order reopening of online voter 

registration in Virginia for three days.2

 With their complaint, the plaintiffs 

filed an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction.3

On October 19, Judge Claude M. Hilton set the case for hearing on 

Thursday morning, October 20.4 According to news media, “Gov. Terry 

McAuliffe said Wednesday he agreed with the lawsuit’s request to extend 

voter registration and had asked Attorney General Mark Herring to reach 

1. See Graham Moomaw, Suit: Extend Va.’s Voter Registration, Richmond TimesDispatch, Oct. 19, 2016, at 1A. 

2. Complaint, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund v. Va. Dep’t of Elections, No. 1:16-cv-1319 

(E.D. Va. Oct. 18, 2016), D.E. 1; see Moomaw, supra note 1; Laura Vozzella, Lawsuit Filed to 

Extend Va.’s Voter Registration, Wash. Post, Oct. 19, 2016, at B1; Patrick Wilson, Group Files 

Lawsuit Against Virginia Election Officials Over Voter Registration Crash, Norfolk VirginianPilot, Oct. 20, 2016, at 4. 

3. Preliminary-Injunction Motion, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund, No. 1:16-cv-1319 (E.D. 

Va. Oct. 18, 2016), D.E. 3. 

4. Docket Sheet, id. (Oct. 18, 2016). 
Extending Voter Registration Because of a Website Crash 

2 Federal Judicial Center 10/26/2023 

out to the federal court to ask for an expedited decision.”5 “Election officials 

and Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office said Tuesday that they had no authority to 

extend the deadline, which is set by state law and passed at 11:59 p.m. Monday.”6

According to the 11:00 a.m. hearing minutes, “The court grants the motion, but with a reduced extension period than sought.”7

 Judge Hilton reopened registration from Thursday following the hearing to the end of Friday.8

More than 27,000 Virginians registered to vote during the extension.9

2020 

The website crashed again in 2020, when sewer-installation workers struck a 

communication cable.10

An October 13, 2020, federal complaint filed in the Eastern District of 

Virginia’s Richmond courthouse alleged, “The outage of Virginia’s Citizen 

Portal online voter registration system on the final day of voter registration 

on October 13, 2020, necessitates a brief but vitally important extension of 

the Virginia voter registration deadline.”11

The defendant commonwealth election officials responded that day: “Defendants agree with Plaintiffs that an order from this Court would vindicate 

the public interests of ensuring access to the voting booth and election integrity.”12 Also on the day that the complaint was filed, the plaintiffs filed a consent motion for a temporary restraining order and emergency injunction relief extending the registration deadline to 11:59 p.m. on October 15.13

5. Wilson, supra note 2; see also Travis Fain, McAuliffe Backs Registration Extension, 

Newport News Daily Press, Oct. 20, 2016, at A3; Laura Vozzella, Judge to Consider More 

Time to Register, Wash. Post, Oct. 20, 2016, at B5. 

6. Moomaw, supra note 1; see also Vozzella, supra note 5. 

7. Minutes, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund, No. 1:16-cv-1319 (E.D. Va. Oct. 20, 2016), 

D.E. 9; see Rachel Weiner, Judge Extends Voter Registration Deadline to Midnight Friday, 

Wash. Post, Oct. 21, 2016, at B2. 

8. Order, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund, No. 1:16-cv-1319 (E.D. Va. Oct. 20, 2016), D.E. 

10; see Patrick Wilson, Judge Orders Virginia to Immediately Reopen Voter Registration After 

Website Crash, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Oct. 21, 2016, at 10. 

9. See Katherine Hafner, Nearly 28,000 Virginians Registered to Vote After the Deadline 

Was Extended, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Oct. 23, 2016, at 11; More Than 27,000 Virginians 

Register to Vote After Court-Mandated Extension, Newport News Daily Press, Oct. 23, 2016, 

at A5. 

10. See Sabrina Moreno, Suit Seeks Extension After Voter Registration Site Outage, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Oct. 14, 2020, at 1A. 

11. Complaint at 1, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund v. Va. Dep’t of Elections, No. 3:20-cv801 (E.D. Va. Oct. 13, 2020), D.E. 1; see Antonio Olivo, Website Issues Snag Va. Voters, 

Wash. Post, Oct. 14, 2020, at B1. 

12. Response Brief at 1, New Va. Majority Educ. Fund, No. 3:20-cv-801 (E.D. Va.Oct. 13, 

2020), D.E. 2. 

13. Consent Motion, id. (Oct. 13, 2020), D.E. 3. 
Extending Voter Registration Because of a Website Crash 

Federal Judicial Center 10/26/2023 3

At an eighteen-minute hearing on the morning of October 14, Judge 

John A. Gibney, Jr., granted the requested relief, ordering a press release issued by 11:30 a.m.14

14. Order, id. (Oct. 14, 2020), D.E. 10, 2020 WL 6051855; Minutes, id. (Oct. 14, 2020), 

D.E. 11; see Alexa Corse, Virginia Extends Deadline for Voter Registration, Wall St. J., Oct. 

15, 2020, at A6; Frank Green, Judge Orders Extension for Va. Voter Registration, Richmond 

Times-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 2020, at 1A.