Britain’s electoral watchdog called on the government on Wednesday to consider extending the voter registration period for a June 23 referendum on EU membership after a key website crashed shortly bef
Britain’s electoral watchdog called on the government on Wednesday to consider extending the voter registration period for a June 23 referendum on EU membership after a key website crashed shortly before the deadline.
British legislators will vote on Thursday on whether to extend the registration deadline.
“We will introduce secondary legislation to extend the deadline for voter registration until midnight tomorrow,-" Cabinet office minister Matt Hancock said in a statement.
More than a million potential voters have applied to register online over the last week, half of them on the final day, according to a government website providing data on the registration system.
Turnout is expected to be key to the outcome of the close-fought referendum, with young people considered to be more pro-EU but also less likely to vote. More than half of those who registered on the final day were under 34.
Less than half an hour before the midnight-June-7 deadline to register, the government tweeted that it was aware of an issue with the website. The Electoral Commission said that it had asked for the deadline to be extended. “The registration deadline is set out in legislation and we have said to the government this morning they should consider options for introducing legislation... that would extend the deadline.”
