Not sure if it's applicable in this case as I'm not a DO user, but this is definitely a thing. For instance, think about web forms for anything 'official' - it's almost as if the worse the UX is, the older the tech it seems to be built on even, the more legit it seems. It's a really counter intuitive effect.
Then you find out about some guy in Japan accessing the web form via fax. What people don't often talk about old stuff is the long tail ecosystems compatible with it
Oh completely agree, not at all saying using old tech is bad in any way and it's completely clear why offical public service stuff prefers it. Just saying it's interesting how this then makes old-looking stuff seem more official, because you're used to everything official generally looking about 10 years old.