IT problems delay some voter registrations; no data lost

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Intermittent computer network problems led to a recently discovered backlog of voter registration applications, Virginia officials said Wednesday.

The glitch has been resolved and no voter registration data has been lost, Susan Beals, commissioner of the Department of Elections, said in a statement. But the issue has increased the workload for local registrars, who process the applications.

The network issue within the Department of Elections led to a delay in processing about 107,000 voting-related transactions recently submitted through the Department of Motor Vehicles, the statement said. Those transactions include address updates, new registrations and other changes.

The total number of new registrations that were delayed won’t be determined until local registrars finish processing them, Beals’ statement said.

The Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit tracker of elections and money in politics, first reported the issue. VPAP said it sought an explanation Tuesday after noticing a dip in new monthly voter registrations starting in June.

Registrars in Virginia’s capital region told The Richmond Times-Dispatch the backlogs meant they would be putting in long hours to catch up.

“Every registrar’s office could use about 10 more people right at this moment,” Chesterfield Registrar Missy Vera told the newspaper.

Voters can check their registration status online.