As Commonwealth Court takes another look at the Voter ID law, directed by the state Supreme Court to review availability, officials have announced a new step to streamline the process of getting an ID before Election Day.  They say it should only require one trip to a PennDOT licensing center.

Pennsylvania Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman says registered voters will have the option of getting a voting only ID card, even if they would qualify for a secure PennDOT ID. He says there’s a lesser level of identification to get the DOS ID.  He says all the registered voter needs to do is provide a name, date of birth and Social Security number.

Ruman says if there is a problem verifying that information; the department will reconcile that issue and mail the ID to the voter.  He says if issues remain, voters should call 1-877-VOTES-PA.

Ruman says the change is in response to the court review of the law. He says the state Supreme Court called into question whether requiring people to go through the process to see if they qualified for a secure PennDOT ID before they were offered the Department of State Voter ID card was consistent with the General Assembly’s intent to provide liberal access to a voter ID card.  He says they have been making adjustments as the law is being implemented.

Ruman adds that the Department of State card is only good for voting while the PennDOT card can also be used for things like boarding a plane, cashing a check or any other reason that you’d need an ID.