State Official Questions Delay of 100,000 Voter Registrations in Virginia

An elected state official has questioned why Virginia’s Department of Elections hasn’t been more forthcoming about the cause of delays in processing around 100,000 voter registrations ahead of the midterms.

Sen. Lionell Spruill, a Virginia Democrat representing District 5 in a key state elections oversight role, publicly wrote to elections commissioner Susan Beals on Thursday demanding an explanation.

This comes after Beals blamed “intermittent network issues” for the issue. Beals said in a statement that around 107,000 voter registrations were sent to local registrars for processing “to ensure voters can be appropriately registered to vote.”

“The issue is now resolved and all impacted registrations have been identified,” she said.

“No voter registration data was lost, but the issue will cause an increase in processing voter registration applications at the local level,” she added.

In his letter, Spruill said he was disappointed to learn about the issue in a newspaper.

“In the future, when difficulties like these arise, the chairpersons of the Senate and House privileges and elections committees should receive notification so that we are fully informed as part of our responsibility to oversee the operations of your department,” Spruill wrote.

Further, Spruill said he’s “very concerned that the department has not been forthcoming to the public” on the details of the network issues causing the backlog.

Virginia Elections

Virginia’s elections have at times been very close, Spruill said, citing a 2018 House of Delegates election that was determined by a tie-breaking drawing of names from a bowl.

Spruill emphasized the need for safe and reliable elections in Virginia and said it is “important that we are as transparent as possible with the public regarding these kinds of essential government functions to ensure continued integrity.”

“It is absolutely essential that every person who wants to vote is able to cast their vote,” Spruill said.

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