E.L. Secretary of State to merge with Lansing branch

MSU students and East Lansing residents might have to trek to the Frandor Shopping Center to renew their driver’s licenses in upcoming years.

The East Lansing Secretary of State, 400 Albert Ave., will consolidate with the Lansing Secretary of State at a new location, said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State. A time frame for the move has not yet been determined, she said.

The merger will create a Secretary of State SUPER!Center, and the center possibly could be located at the Frandor Shopping Center, Chesney said. A SUPER!Center offers Saturday hours and self-service stations, she said.

“These new offices allow us to fully capitalize on existing resources: people, finances and facilities,” she said.

But state Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing, said Lansing and East Lansing should have individual branches.

“This concerns me because it affects 45,000 students at Michigan State University who use that office pretty consistently,” Meadows said.

Closure of the East Lansing branch is part of a plan to consolidate Secretary of State branches in 11 counties statewide. Chesney said branches are short-staffed and that the consolidation will not eliminate any jobs.

“This is an effort to preserve jobs,” she said. “Less buildings and use dollars for people.”

Meadows said this move will make it inconvenient for students to update their driver’s licenses with their college address and therefore more difficult to vote in East Lansing.

“It pretty much puts the kabash on registration here in East Lansing,” Meadows said. “It’s important for them to register to vote in the place they are living, which would be East Lansing.”

Interior design junior Rachael Brandon said she is concerned about the loss of convenience with the move of the branch.

“It’s (going to) affect us a lot,” Brandon said. “When I lost my license last week, I just walked there between classes; it’s more convenient.”

Consolidation was chosen in relation to lower demand at these county branches, Chesney said. Lansing and East Lansing branches have experienced a decline in business in recent years, with the East Lansing office experiencing a 30 percent reduction in transactions since 2002, Chesney said.

“People are moving to online services,” she said.