Extended voter registration deadline may draw legal challenge from Vote Leave

The decision to extend the registration deadline until midnight tonight came as an onslaught of would-be voters crashed the online registration platform in the final hours of the original deadline on Tuesday night, blocking many from completing their registrations in time. According to the government’s data website, over half a million people tried to use the registration platform on the final day, more than 300,000 of which were young people under the age of 34.

Vote Leave anger

However, the decision to extend the deadline by two days to compensate for a two-hour crash has the Vote Leave camp crying foul. Though voters had months to register for the referendum, the government data shows that it was overwhelmingly young people who left their registrations to the last minute – young people who are also, demographically speaking, far more likely to back the Vote Remain campaign than those in higher age brackets. ‘They’ve just told the House of Commons that their website crashed last night because of high demand, but we know that the Government and their allies are trying to register as many likely Remain voters as possible,’ said Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliot in The Independent.

Possible legal challenge

The theories about the Government’s website crash range from suspiciously coincidental to full-blown conspiratorial. However, that the extension is likely to do more good for those hoping to stay in the EU than those hoping to leave is undeniable, prompting Leave EU campaign funder Arron Banks to flag a potential legal challenge against the referendum result should it go the way of Vote Remain. ‘We believe it’s unconstitutional at best and have been advised that with legitimate cause we could challenge this extension,’ said Mr Banks in a statement. ‘We are therefore considering all available legal options with our legal team, with a view to potentially launching a judicial review now and after the outcome of the referendum on 23 June.’

Sources: BBC; BBC (2); The Independent