The British government is looking at passing emergency
legislation to extend the deadline for voters to register to take part in a
June 23 referendum on EU membership, a minister said on Wednesday.
The
government website crashed shortly before the midnight (7 p.m. ET) Tuesday
deadline, prompting calls from senior politicians and Britain's electoral
watchdog the Electoral Commission to extended the registration period.
"We
are looking at legislative options ... We need to make sure that we get the
details of any emergency legislation exactly right," Matt Hancock, a
minister for the Cabinet Office department responsible for the issue, told
parliament.
Hancock
said the website was now back up and that people should continue to apply to
register to vote, but legislation was likely to be needed in order to ensure
those registering after the deadline will be allowed to vote.
(Reporting
by Kylie MacLellan and William James; editing by Stephen Addison)
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