Students and residents may find the wait a little more bearable at the Secretary of State office with new technology.
The Department of State began installing a $7.4 million computer system in branch offices Thursday.
All branch offices should have the new windows-based technology installed by May.
The offices were originally on a computer system that, in some branches, dated back to 1984, said Elizabeth Boyd, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State.
“The technology we’d been using wasn’t even supported by the manufacturer anymore,” she said of the old disk operating system. “Now, it’s an entirely new way of doing business.”
Boyd said the most noticeable change will be the appearance of the system. The large, clearer color monitors may make the wait a little shorter.
“The new system will make it more efficient and perhaps a little speedier,” Boyd said. “It is also a system that is designed for us to add new advantages when they become available so we won’t have to replace the system.”
The East Lansing branch, 400 Albert Ave. had the system installed the first week of December as part of a trial run.
“Everything is going up to the new age,” said Gaynor Baker, assistant manager of the branch. “There’s the great visual aspects when students come in and see the new screens.”
Baker said the new system makes it easier to check the voter registration of a customer and makes it possible to complete several transactions at once.
“It’s a great step in the future,” she said.
The new system comes at a time when the Department of State is experiencing a budget crisis and closing some branch offices.
But Boyd said the new system has been in the works since 1997, with money being put aside each fiscal year.
“The last amount. of money was set aside in September, before the states current budget crisis became apparent to everyone,” she said.
Mario Marquez, an engineering senior, was waiting in line at the East Lansing branch Thursday while his friend got a new drivers license.
He noticed the new computer screens and said he hopes the system will make trips to the Secretary of State a speedier process for customers.
“There is usually a long wait,” he said. “If (the new system) helps the wait it will definitely be better.”
