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Posted on 10/06/2020 10:06:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
Investigation underway after system had issues on final day to register to vote in state
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis extended the state’s voter registration deadline Tuesday after unexpected and unexplained heavy traffic crashed the state’s online system and potentially prevented thousands of enrolling to cast ballots in next month’s presidential election.
DeSantis extended the deadline that expired Monday until 7 p.m. EDT Tuesday. In addition to online registration, DeSantis ordered elections, motor vehicle and tax collectors offices to stay open until 7 p.m. local time for anyone who wants to register in person.
“You can have the best site in the world, but sometimes there are hiccups,” DeSantis said during a press conference at The Villages, a large retirement community in central Florida. “If 500,000 people descend at the same time, it creates a bottleneck.”
The state is investigating why its voter registration system crashed on Monday, saying unexpectedly heavy traffic that can't be immediately explained pored in during the closing hours.
Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, who oversees the voting system, said the online registration system “was accessed by an unprecedented 1.1 million requests per hour” during the last few hours of Monday.
"We're exploring all options to ensure that all eligible registrants have the ability to register to vote and will work with our state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure this was not a deliberate act against the voting process," Lee said in a statement. "We will be issuing an update as soon as possible."
Lee had tweeted on Monday that some users experienced delays for about 15 minutes while trying to register due to high volume, but that they had increased capacity.
A civil rights group is threatening to sue if the governor does not extend the deadline. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said the breakdown would unjustly deprive thousands of casting ballots for president and other offices.
“We are not going to stand by idly,” said Kristen Clarke, the group's president. She said the group sued Virginia in 2016 after its computer system crashed just before the deadline, winning an extension that allowed thousands of additional voters to register.
Democrats throughout the state have pushed for an extension to the deadline.
"Not planning for a voter registration surge is voter suppression. Not ensuring everyone who wants to register can do so is voter suppression. Not extending the deadline is voter suppression. @GovRonDeSantis & @FLSecofState, you must extend the deadline," tweeted Nikki Fried, Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture and consumer services and the state's highest-ranked Democrat.
"This is just latest attempt from the Republican leaders in Florida to limit democracy. The Florida Voter Registration website not working on the last day to register to vote in Florida is blatant voter suppression. Fix the website, stop the suppression, and let democracy work," Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said in a statement.
“The utter incompetence of Gov. Ron DeSantis in allowing the state’s voter registration website to crash on the very last day to register for the upcoming November election is, sadly, completely believable,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said. “His administrative buffoonery in operating the state’s unemployment system telegraphed today’s executive ineptitude. However, this particular blunder intimates a continuing pattern of voter suppression that the governor has become notorious for.”
Sarah Dinkins, a Florida State University student, tried to help her younger sister register Monday night. They began trying about 9 p.m. and by 10:30 p.m. had not been successful.
“I feel very frustrated,” she said. “If the voting website doesn’t work, fewer people potentially Democratic voters will be able to vote."
This is not the first major computer shutdown to affect the state government this year. For weeks in the spring, tens of thousands of Floridians who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic couldn't file for unemployment benefits because of repeated crashes by that overwhelmed computer system, delaying their payments. DeSantis replaced the director overseeing the system but blamed the problems on his predecessor, fellow Republican Rick Scott, who is now a U.S. senator.
People have had months to register. I have little sympathy for morons who wait until the last minute.
5% of the people in the state of Florida tried to register in the last few hours? I don’t think so. Most likely it was hackers.
We demand the institution of 180 day retrospective voting! And we want it now!
"The utter incompetence of Gov. Ron DeSantis in allowing the state’s voter registration website to crash...."
Yeah, the governor (or CEO of a business etc) has any control over crashing apps/systems. Its a nightmare for guys at my level of things. I'd love to know what they're seeing in the logfiles.... DoS attack? Hacked and aabotaged? Or just broke under load or a bug? Whatever the case, DeSantis IS utterly incompetent at IT to have done and/or allowed it.
Nikki Fried is a Democrat and the only state-wide elected Dem in the ‘cabinet’, AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER.
She is a loud mouthed camera hog and will probably run for Governor in the next election against DeSantis.............
She has even used the office to put HER PICTURE on every gas pump in Florida, since there is an accuracy and inspection seal on them from the Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for their ensuring their accuracy and traceability..............
Sounds like more of an attack then anything else. Please, a month to register and hit with 500K on last day?
I’m so sick of pandering, holding people’s hands to allow them unlimited amount of time to register, vote, get their absentee ballots mailed, dropped off.
It could be 6month lead time and still people would be screaming, suing for more time.
“” Most likely it was hackers.””
Democrat hackers...
Sounds like a planned attack...................
Watch and weep as Florida goes blue. :-(
A million hits per hour? Email them back and they’ve got 7 days to show up with ID to register. Reject any last day registrations. Tell them due to obvious indications of fraud that they can show up within the week with proof of ID and precinct location.
Watching our election being stolen. Chit!
Ah! The old "unexpected and unexplained" have made a return to our election season vernacular.
They have been hiding out at the Bureau of Labor Statistics for years...............
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