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Come and get your voter ID
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Since Pennsylvania's voter ID law took effect in March, there has been some speculation about how PennDOT is handling its responsibility to serve Pennsylvanians. As always, PennDOT is committed to offering the best service possible through our 71 driver license centers. With the recent decision by Commonwealth Court to uphold the voter ID law, PennDOT will maintain that focus as we move into the fall.
Every year, PennDOT serves 2.4 million customers face to face at our centers. Last year, more than 88 percent were served within 30 minutes or less. While some predicted the voter ID law would cause a major influx of Pennsylvanians seeking IDs, so far we have not seen any significant increase. Only about 4,350 free IDs have been requested and issued.
PennDOT's dedicated teams of professionals have been fully briefed and stand at the ready to serve all of our customers. Long-standing procedures are in place that allow us to quickly respond to driver-licensing changes that may come into play as the result of federal or state law. These procedures allow us to quickly update our managers, supervisors and front-line employees on any revisions. One change associated with the voter ID law, which permits an alternative process to secure birth certification, has resulted in only 92 individuals utilizing this process since May.
As of this week, voters have another form of identification available if they do not qualify for a PennDOT driver's license or ID. PennDOT is now issuing a new Department of State voter ID card. Even so, driver license center operations will largely remain the same. We will work closely with the Department of State to determine if a customer qualifies for the new card by verifying that he or she is registered to vote.
Customer service is ingrained at PennDOT and it is standard PennDOT practice to work closely with customers to resolve issues quickly. Our quick response in addressing customer concerns contributes to customers telling us, through surveys, that they are highly satisfied with our services.
Moving forward, we invite Pennsylvanians to continue as our partners in making their driver's license, PennDOT ID card or Department of State identification card process a smooth one. To help ensure our customers have all the necessary documents to streamline processing, they can contact our call center at 1-800-932-4600 or visit our website, www.dmv.state.pa.us. Our website includes information on how to apply for a driver's license or identification card, and also has an easy-to-use locator tool allowing customers to find the closest center, its services and its hours and days of operation.
PennDOT will continually provide professional customer service to those seeking identification cards, and we will continue to monitor demand and adjust services as necessary to maintain high levels of customer service.
First Published August 30, 2012 12:00 am
