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Voters were met with a message indicating they weren’t registered when trying to access the Citizen Portal.
Less than two weeks from the general election, Virginia voters were confused Wednesday morning when the state’s voter registration portal went offline for several hours. The outage, which prevented voters from confirming their registration status, comes as early voting is already under way and adds to the growing concerns over Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s voter roll purges, which are at the center of a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice.
James Millner, executive director of Virginia Pride, was among those affected by the outage, posting on Facebook early Wednesday that the system flagged him as unregistered even though he had previously verified his status. “This is disturbing if I have, in fact, been kicked off voter rolls,” Millner wrote at 6:53 a.m. Eastern. Many others echoed his concern, with some noting that they had already voted during the early voting period. “Showing same for me, and I’ve already voted,” commented Brian Bangs.
The Advocate confirmed the registration error while attempting to access the portal. Andrea M. Gaines, the Virginia Department of Elections external affairs manager, acknowledged the issue at 9:16 a.m. Eastern, writing, “There was a service disruption to the Citizen Portal, and the Department of Elections’ IT staff resolved the issue.” When pressed on the cause, duration, and potential impact on early voting locations, Gaines told The Advocate that the department was still investigating.
This disruption comes as the DOJ’s lawsuit against the Youngkin administration heats up. Filed on October 11, the suit accuses Virginia of violating the National Voter Registration Act by purging voter rolls during the federally protected 90-day quiet period before a federal election. Under Youngkin’s Executive Order 35, local election officials have been instructed to perform daily voter roll updates, using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles to identify noncitizens. Individuals flagged as noncitizens are given 14 days to affirm their citizenship or risk having their registration canceled.
The DOJ argues that this process disproportionately affects minority communities and could disenfranchise eligible voters without proper notice or due process. Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, emphasized that the timing of the purges so close to a federal election violates the NVRA’s quiet period provisions.
Speaking with The Advocate, Millner explained that the issue first arose when a friend of his, who was abroad, checked the status of her ballot and received an error message indicating she wasn’t registered. Millner checked his own status and was alarmed to find the same issue. “It was frightening to me because I had just checked it a couple of weeks ago. I check it regularly,” Millner said. “I’ve been checking it because of my concerns around the Youngkin administration’s attempts to purge voter rolls and whether or not people who are legally and appropriately registered are going to get caught up in that.”
After posting his experience on social media, Millner realized the problem was widespread, with people across the state, including his family and friends, encountering the same issue. “I understand technology glitches occur, but we are not living in normal times. We are constantly hit with messages that say that our voting systems cannot be trusted,” he said.
Millner also expressed concern that the glitch could be tied to the ongoing purges of voter rolls. “We are living currently in a state in which our governor is likely illegally altering voter rolls within the 90-day quiet period required by federal law,” he said. Millner speculated that the daily purging of voter rolls under Youngkin’s administration might be overwhelming the system and contributing to these types of errors.
Millner also criticized the Virginia Department of Elections for not being more transparent and proactive in addressing the issue. “They should be out front on this and not playing defense or just simply being responsive to people who question this,” he said. “My guess is that they’re not going to want to do that because it indicates that there are problems with their system.” He added that this lack of communication only fuels distrust in the election system, particularly in an environment where voting rights are already under attack.
On Monday, a federal judge in Alexandria ordered Virginia’s Department of Elections to release the names of individuals removed from the voter rolls under this program, Virginia Public Radio reports. The order came in response to a separate lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters and the Virginia Coalition of Immigrant Rights.
Youngkin, however, has defended his administration’s actions. In an interview with Fox News Sunday, the governor pushed back against claims of a purge, insisting that the process is legally sound. “This is not a purge. … It’s wholly consistent with the U.S. Constitution, the Virginia Constitution, and Virginia law,” Youngkin said. He also criticized the DOJ’s timing, suggesting the lawsuit was politically motivated.
With the general election fast approaching, voting rights advocates encourage voters to check their registration status by phone or in person if they experience difficulties online.
Since September 20, Virginia has been conducting early voting, allowing residents to vote in person before the November election. Mail-in voting has also been under way, with voters able to request absentee ballots until the October 25 deadline. Voter registration offices across the state will be open for early voting through November 2, and voters have until Election Day, November 5, to cast their ballots.
