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WEBVTT WE’VE BEEN TAKING A VERY CLOSE LOOK AT. KEVIN: EVEN WITH SHORTER LINES, A TRIP TO THE DMV IS STILL NO PLEASURE CRUISE. THE DIRECTOR ADMITS THEY HAVE MORE WORK TO DO. AND ONE LAWMAKER WE TALKED TO TODAY SAID YES, THEY DO. AT THIS DMV OFFICE IN SACRAMENTO TODAY, WE FOUND THE COUNTERS WELL-STAFFED AND SEATS TO SPARE IN THE WAITING AREA. THE DMV SAYS THEIR NOTORIOUSLY-CROWDED OFFICE ON BROADWAY HAS KNOCKED 46 MINUTES OFF THE WAIT TIME FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT APPOINTMENTS IN THE LAST MONTH. DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR JEAN SHIOMOTO SAYS EXTRA STAFFING IS PAYING OFF >> WE ARE SEEING THAT HAVING TRAINED EMPLOYEES WORK AT OUR WINDOWS REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO SERVE OU CUSTOMERS EFFICIENTLY, A LOT FASTER. KEVIN: STATEWIDE THE DMV SAYS IT HAS REDUCED WAIT TIMES BY AN AVERAGE 21 MINUTES. BUT SHIOMOTO SAYS HER AGENCY STILL HAS WORK TO DO. >> WE’RE WORKING ON THAT, SO WE’RE GOING TO BE WORKING AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO BRING THE WAIT TIMES DOWN. KEVIN: DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS, REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER JIM PATTERSON SAYS THE DMV SHOULDN’T BE CELEBRATING. >> THEY’RE PATTING THEMSELVES ON THE BACK FROM GETTING TWO THIR OF THEIR WINDOWS EMPTY, TO HALF OF THEIR WINDOWS WITH INDIVIDUALS THERE TO HELP OUT. KEVIN: THE FRESNO ASSEMBLYMAN SAID THE DMV SHOULD BE FOLLOWING THE VEHICLE CODE THAT DRIVER’S HAVE TO FOLLOW WHICH SPELLS OUT WHAT THE WAIT TIME SHOULD BE. >> THE VEHICLE CODE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR. IT’S THE INTENTION OF THE LEGISLATURE TO SEE TO IT THAT A CALIFORNIAN DOES NOT HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE ANY LONGER THAN A HALF AN HOUR FOR EACH LINE THE HAVE TO WAIT I KEVIN: WHICH THE DMV’S DIRECTOR SAID IS HER DEPARTMENT’S ULTIMATE GOAL. THE DMV DIRECTOR SAID THEY ARE STILL HIRING MORE PEOPLE, STAFF, AND EVEN BRINGING BACK RETIREES. THEY WANT TO CUT WAIT TIMES BY ANOTHER 20% NEXT MONTH. BUT HOW MUCH IS ALL OF THIS COSTING AND WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING? OUR KCRA 3 INVESTIGATES TEAM HAS OBTAINED DOCUMENTS FROM THE STATE. WE ARE GOING OVER THEM NOW AND WE WILL HAVE OUR FINDINGS FOR YOU IN A REP

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The Department of Motor Vehicles says agency technicians may have botched about 23,000 Californians' voter registrations under the state's new "motor voter" law, according to a letter Wednesday from the department.The DMV sent the secretary of state's office incorrect information for some voters, according to the letter DMV Director Jean Shiomoto and Department of Technology Director Amy Tong sent Secretary of State Alex Padilla. The department says the errors mostly affected customers' vote-by-mail, language and political party selections.The agency says it will send letters to affected voters so they can correct their information. You can check your voter registration status here.The DMV says the error did not allow anyone living in the country without authorization to register to vote."I am extremely disappointed and deeply frustrated that DMV's administrative error caused inaccurate voter registration data to be transmitted to elections officials," Padilla said in a statement. "The DMV has assured us that they have taken necessary actions to prevent this from occurring again."California's motor voter law letting residents to automatically register to vote took effect in April. The department says people registered or updated their voter registration about 1.4 million times through August 5.Voters must be registered to vote by Oct. 22 for the Nov. 6 election. You can register to vote here.The news comes as the DMV faces backlash for long waits at some of its offices that spurred public outcry and prompted hearings last month in the state Legislature.++ Previous story: California DMV avoids audit, despite hourslong wait timesWait times improved by an average of 30 minutes statewide between July and August, the agency reported to lawmakers Wednesday.DMV officials say they've hired additional staff and brought back retired workers to speed up transactions. They've blamed new technology, the new motor voter law and federal security standards known as Real ID for the delays.Shiomoto called the wait times unacceptable when testifying at the hearings. She vowed to fix the problem.The agency says customers without an appointment spent an average of 100 minutes waiting during the week ending Aug. 25.Wait times vary significantly, from a low of three minutes for customers with an appointment in Napa or Fall River Mills to a high of 158 minutes for walk-ins in West Covina.Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, a Republican from the San Francisco Bay Area, says reports she's heard from her constituents and staffers who have visited DMV offices in her district don't align with the rosier picture painted by the agency."I have zero confidence in the numbers we're receiving from the DMV," she said. "It was apparent in not one but two hearings they had no reliable way to assess the scope of their own wait-time problem."The Real ID standards were passed in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks and require new ID cards to carry special markings.After Oct. 1, 2020, airport security checkpoints won't accept non-compliant cards. Californians must apply for new cards in person at DMV offices.Lawmakers have given the DMV millions of dollars in additional funding to accommodate higher demand as Californians update their licenses to comply with the security requirement.---Story by Associated Press writer Sophia Bollag