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Britain extends deadline for EU vote registration

Xinhua, June 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

British voters are being given more time until midnight Thursday to register to vote in the June 23 EU referendum after the official registration system crashed in an unprecedented dash-for-a-vote.

The Cabinet Office issued a statement Wednesday afternoon announcing the extension, which will require parliamentary support.

The legal deadline to qualify for a vote was midnight Tuesday, but a last minute rush saw around 500,000 trying to register in the final hours before the deadline.

It caused a fury of protests from the public unable to access the registration site, with people accessing the site at the rate of 15 every second.

Some parliamentary experts have said allowing people to register beyond the legal cut off time could lead to legal challenges in the law courts. But experts say if the government rushes through legislation it would rule out a challenge.

Election officials were told Wednesday to prepare for a turnout in the June 23 referendum of around 80 percent. Enditem