Government figures showed 446,490 people aged under 35 had signed up since June 1, dwarfing the 62,627 voters over the age of 55 who registered in the same period.
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The Electoral Commission had hailed the success of their campaign to get voters registered ahead of the midnight deadline, but that success lead to demand the official website couldn’t cope with.
Corbyn has been joined by Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron who called the situation a “mess”. Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP for Aberavon, yesterday said that since there was a pro-Remain majority in the Commons, this would be used to ensure the United Kingdom remained inside the European Union single market, even if the country voted for Brexit. It’s mainly about the British economy, but it could also change so many aspects of daily life for young Britons.
Then, come June 23 you’ll be able to cast your vote and say whether you want the United Kingdom to stay in the European Union or pack up its bags and head off alone.
A government source said: “The Government’s view is that we can extend the deadline until 5pm today”. He also said the changes meant there was still a risk of “under-registration”.
But on Twitter, users complained that the website crashed after the prime minister, David Cameron, and Ukip leader Nigel Farage took part in an European Union referendum programme.
Ian Katz, the editor of Newsnight, wrote: “Seems traffic to voter registration site peaked at 22.15 when 50,000 were trying to register – and site subsequently crashed”.
Opposition leaders called for an extension to the deadline and the elections watchdog suggested the government should consider introducing legislation to extend the deadline.
Per usual, people are scrambling before the deadline.
He branded the website crash a “shambles” and said people should be granted an additional 24 hours to “exercise their democratic right”.
The Electoral Commission said last night: ‘We are aware of issues with the Government registration website and know that they are seeking to resolve these as soon as possible’. “Please try again in a few moments”.
Our message is simple: you can’t vote if you’re not registered by Tuesday 7 June.
He said: “It is annoying”.
Scottish Green Party co-convener Maggie Chapman said: “No one should lose their right to vote simply because a website crashed”.
He added: “I say to everyone – especially young people in our country who this will affect most of all – don’t sit it out on the sidelines”.
He later said that around five minutes after the deadline, he managed to speed through the process in under a minute.
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Britain’s elections regulator, the Electoral Commission, has not yet commented on the legal possibility of the registration deadline being extended.
