PennDOT Driver License Center located at Point Plaza in Butler Township.

An employee at Butler Township’s driver's license center was fired after a woman’s voter registration receipt was altered, according to an Allegheny County state representative.

State Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-30th, said in a Friday, Aug. 8, interview that an 18-year-old Allegheny County resident, Zahra Evans, recently approached him following her visit to the PennDOT Driver’s License Center at 158 Point Plaza.

According to Venkat, Evans went to the location on July 31 for the shorter lines. She needed get a new photo identification before leaving for college and was asked if she wanted to register to vote, he said.

When Evans registered as a Democrat, the PennDOT employee handed her a receipt with “Democratic” crossed out and “socialist” written on the receipt, the Allegheny County representative said.

Evans then reached out to Venkat, who is also a family friend, for help, and filed a complaint with the State Office of Inspector General.

“First of all, it’s voter intimidation. We should never, especially in that setting, belittle or indicate to a voter their choice is wrong and certainly we should encourage voters however they vote,” Venkat told the Butler Eagle. “My outrage would be the same whether they were a Democrat or Republican.”

PennDOT investigated the incident several days after it occurred and said in a statement it was aware of the incident.

“PennDOT is aware and is actively investigating the situation. The employee implicated in this situation was hired by an outside contractor working with PennDOT. We do not comment on personnel matters,” the statement, sent to the Butler Eagle on Friday, said.

Venkat said he was glad PennDOT quickly investigated and said he was informed that the employee was fired, calling it an “appropriate reaction,” and said “all of us need to do better with the rhetoric we use.”

Venkat pointed to public officials he thinks have created a toxic political environment where voters with opposing beliefs are pitted against each other and can’t get along.

“This is the direct result of officials like the president treating their opponents like enemies, calling them scum, acting like the political process is not meant to resolve differences,” Venkat said. “People treat the process like a zero sum game, like there's a winner and loser and there’s no common ground. Behavior like that should never happen.”