IT Glitch Delays Voter Registrations

Intermittent computer network errors at the Virginia Department of Elections have caused a delay in processing at least 40,000 new voter registrations submitted at the DMV between May and September. In preparing this visualization on voter registrations, VPAP sought an explanation Tuesday after noticing a dip starting in June.

Monthly New Voter Registrations

Congressional Midterms (2010-22)


State election officials who recently discovered the connectivity issues say no documents were lost and that every person affected who is qualified to vote will be given a chance to cast a ballot in the November 8 election. This week, the Department of Elections provided local voting registrars with a backlog of 107,000 DMV transactions, which include address changes, new registrations and other changes. The exact number of new registrations delayed will not be determined until work is completed by local registrars, who are responsible for maintaining the voter file.

VPAP based its estimate of least 40,000 delayed registrations on the difference between the 2022 trend lines before and after the connectivity problems began.


Source: Virginia Department of Elections. New registered voters from January through September of each year with a midterm election.
Oct. 5, 2022