Yes, most people have access to email and it's only getting more common.
The website is bad but it's less some secret cabal and more the challenge of an agency that doesn't contract for software...contracting to make software. Assuming they have a 2 to 5 year contract, it's a long time before they get around to fixing issues or it's an expensive contract modification that they haven't got a budget for.
Having gone thru a similar process a few times, it's a lot harder than it sounds to write the specs to get a flawless software developed.