Judge extends Virginia voter registrations for 48 hours after cut cable knocked site offline

RICHMOND, Va. - A federal judge has extended Virginia's voter registration deadline by 48 hours after an accidentally severed cable shut down the state's online portal.

Judge extends voter registration in Virginia 48 hours

A judge has extended Virginia's voter registrations for 48 hours citing 'tremendous harm' when cut cable knocked site offline.

Wednesday's order by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. in Richmond is an effort to make up for the site being down for several hours on Tuesday, which was the last day to register before November's general election.

Both the voting rights group that sued for the extension and Virginia officials who were defendants in the case agreed that more time should be granted.

The new deadline for people hoping to vote is 11:59 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 15.

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An accidentally severed fiber optic cable shut down Virginia's online voter registration system for several hours Tuesday -- the last day to register before the November general election.

The Virginia Department of Elections said in a statement on Twitter that a “fiber cut” affected connectivity for multiple agencies, including the department's citizen portal and registrar's offices. The cable was inadvertently cut during a Chesterfield County roadside utilities project, according to the state’s information technology agency.