Filed Date: Oct. 18, 2016
Closed Date: Nov. 7, 2016
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Under Virginia state law, voters in the state are required to register to vote by a certain deadline before the election. Virginia residents are barred from voting a ballot that will be counted if they do not meet the registration deadline because, unlike a number of other states, Virginia does not permit eligible citizens to register during the absentee voting period or on Election Day. In 2016, the deadline for registration was Monday, October 17. Although Virginia has an online voter registration tool, many Virginia residents experienced problems when using this website, either due to significant delays in website responsiveness from October 15-17, 2016, or complete website failure resulting in a “file not found” error message. These technological failures prevented individuals from looking up their voter registration status, printing voter registration forms, and registering to vote online and as a result, hundreds of Virginia residents were unable to register.
The Plaintiffs, a mixture of NGOs representing minority voters as well as individual Virginia residents who were unable to register to vote due to these technical issues, filed an action on October 18, 2016 in the Eastern District of Virginia against Virginia state officials responsible for administering the election to request a preliminary injunction that said officials take all action necessary to extend the registration deadline for at least 72 hours and to notify the residents of Virginia that the registration period had been extended. The case was assigned to Judge Claude M. Hilton.
The cause of action was that the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, as protected under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, protect the right to vote as a fundamental right and the refusal by the Defendants to extend the voter registration deadline imposed a severe burden on that right and that the state did not have a sufficient interest or justification for doing so. The Plaintiff also alleged that the Defendants' actions violated the Equal Protections Clause since it irrationally and arbitrarily discriminates between Virginians based on the date within the lawful registration period on which they attempted to register to vote. In addition, the Plaintiffs claimed that the Defendants' violated the Due Process Clause because it was fundamentally unfair to announce that prospective Virginia voters could register to vote online through October 17, and then deny those same prospective Virginia voters the ability to register to vote online through October 17.
On October 20, the district court issued a temporary injunction requiring that the registration period be extended until 11:59 pm on October 21 and the election officials take all necessary action to notify the public.
On November 2, the Plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. On November 7, the Court entered an order allowing the notice of voluntarily dismissal.
Summary Authors
(6/30/2024)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4536584/parties/new-virginia-majority-education-fund-v-virginia-department-of-elections/
Edelman, Daniel A (Virginia)
Birkenheier, Anna Tillie (Virginia)
Brundage, Jeffrey P. (Virginia)
Cox, Trevor Stephen (Virginia)
Davis, Stephen Sharp (Virginia)
Birkenheier, Anna Tillie (Virginia)
Brundage, Jeffrey P. (Virginia)
Cox, Trevor Stephen (Virginia)
Davis, Stephen Sharp (Virginia)
Finberg, Dana Johannes (Virginia)
Gallagher, Kathleen Angell (Virginia)
Hearne, Mark Fernlund (Virginia)
Heslinga, Joshua David (Virginia)
Larson, Stephen Gerard (Virginia)
Lockerman, Heather Hays (Virginia)
McCullough, Stephen Richard (Virginia)
McGuire, Matthew Robert (Virginia)
Pinn, Godfrey Thadeus (Virginia)
Pitchford, Jonathan Duncan (Virginia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4536584/new-virginia-majority-education-fund-v-virginia-department-of-elections/
Last updated Aug. 16, 2025, 1:25 a.m.
State / Territory: Virginia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project
Key Dates
Filing Date: Oct. 18, 2016
Closing Date: Nov. 7, 2016
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Individuals and non-profit organizations bringing an action on behalf of voters in Virginia
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Order Duration: 2016 - 2016
Issues
Voting: