Upgraded DMV system glitches, changes over 12 thousand voter affiliations

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Ongoing system upgrades at the Division of Motor Vehicles have caused quite a stir where thousands of Rhode Islanders have had their political affiliations changed.

According to Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, 12,500 people who used the new system to register to vote, or update voter information had their affiliations switched to unaffiliated. However, it will not impact an individual’s ability to vote.

The official statement from to Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea is listed below:

 “It has been brought to my attention that ongoing system upgrades at the Division of Motor Vehicles have inadvertently led to a disruption in their “motor voter” registration system. We have reached out to the DMV and their software vendor and have determined the following:

 Starting on July 19, approximately 12,500 Rhode Islanders who used the upgraded DMV system and registered to vote or updated their existing voter information did not have their party affiliation transferred to the Central Voter Registration Database as part of their voter registration file. This resulted in their party affiliation being listed as unaffiliated, the system’s default. This did not impact their ability to vote in the September 13 statewide primaries. 

On September 14, the DMV switched their online renewal process at RI.GOV from the old to the new system. To date, approximately 910 Rhode Islanders who used that system also registered to vote or updated their registration information. These registrations were not transferred to the Central Voter Registration Database.

No data was lost in either instance. We are currently working with the DMV, their vendor and local boards of canvassers to make sure that all voter registration information received through the DMV is accurate and up to date. It is my priority to make sure that all eligible Rhode Islanders can vote on Election Day. I want to reassure voters that this will not impact their ability to vote in the General Election on November 8.”

This comes after the Rhode Island DMV delayed the launch of its new computer system.

The agency said the project is not expected to meet its target start date in December, and instead the new plan is to roll things out by the end of next June.

The release of a new state license plate has also been pushed back until things are up and running.

Robert S. Hull, Director, Rhode Island Department of Revenue, released a statement on the matter:

“The core computer system and its nearly 70 interfaces are on target to be completed by December. But as the Governor said Thursday during a public town hall meeting, this is a major IT implementation that we inherited, and we need to get it right. And as such, we have decided to take more time for further testing and training before the rollout, now planned to occur by June 30, 2017.”

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