EU referendum website crashes as thousands try to register right before deadline
LONDON -- Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and other British MPs are calling for voter registration for the referendum on the UK's membership in the European Union to be extended after the government website crashed Tuesday less than two hours before the deadline.
Potential voters were urged to register before 11:59 p.m. BST on Tuesday, June 7, in order to take part in the EU referendum. At 10:15 p.m. there were more than 50,000 people attempting to register to vote at the same time.
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But just 20 minutes later, people were not allowed to get through the application process due to "unprecedented demand," a Cabinet Office spokesperson said in a statement to Mashable.
"We became aware of technical issues on gov.uk/register-to-vote late on Tuesday night due to unprecedented demand," the Cabinet Office said.
"Some people did manage to get through and their applications were processed. We tried to resolve the situation as quickly as was possible and to resolve cases where people tried to register but were not able to."
Over 500,000 people registered to vote on Tuesday, they said.
Corbyn called on Twitter for an extension to the registration deadline:
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Before the midnight deadline, Gloria De Piero, the Labour shadow minister for voter registration, said more than 26,000 people were online trying to register:
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Yvette Cooper, another Labour MP, also called for the deadline to be extended:
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Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "With individual voter registration, and a big campaign to encourage young people to register, many of whom have been trying to do so last-minute, this could have major consequences for the result.
"Evidence shows younger people are overwhelmingly pro-European, and if they are disenfranchised it could cost us our place in Europe. It could also turn them off democracy for life. Voters must be given an extra day while this mess is sorted out urgently."
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