A federal lawsuit is challenging Indiana Senate Bill 10, which prohibits students from using their university IDs to vote. The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction to block the law ahead of the May 5 primary.
The lawsuit, filed by Count US IN, Women4Change and Indiana University junior Josh Montagne, argues SB 10 makes it harder for young people to vote.
“For decades, tens of thousands of students at Indiana’s public colleges and universities could vote using the student ID cards they carry with them every day,” the lawsuit reads. “Senate Bill 10 changed that. The new law bars students—and only students—from using the IDs most accessible to them.”
The lawsuit says since student IDs meet photo identification requirements, singling them out in Indiana’s voter’s law potentially violates the First, Fourteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments.
The state argues there is no constitutional right to use a student ID specifically and that Indiana has the authority to determine what forms of identification are acceptable at the polls. Supporters of the act argue it protects election integrity to only allow state-issued ID.
Early voting starts on April 7. The lawsuit argues students’ voting ability could be impeded if the law is enforced during the primary since students might not have access to documents needed to obtain an accepted ID while at school.
If the injunction passes, student IDs will be allowed as identification in the primary. If not, they will remain prohibited.
Monroe County Election Supervisor Kylie Farris said the county is preparing for both possibilities but is currently operating under the assumption the law will remain in effect.
“We have not really been told if there's going to be any judgment anytime soon,” Farris said. “We've been kind of through the grapevine hearing that it could take a few years. So right now, we're just moving forward with the way that it is.”
This is the first election in which SB 10 will be enforced. Farris said Monroe County is updating poll worker training materials and creating guidance for handling voters who arrive expecting to use student IDs.
“I've been working with our training specialist on creating some materials for that,” she said. “Just like a quick ‘if this happens, this is what you can say,’ and how to handle this.”
Farris said students can obtain a state-issued identification card from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and a temporary paper copy of that ID is acceptable on Election Day. A passport is also an acceptable form of identification.
Students who arrive at the polls without an accepted ID can still cast a provisional ballot. She explained that voters have 10 days after the election to provide accepted identification to the clerk’s office. If they do so before the deadline, their provisional ballot will be counted.
“There are going to be some barriers,” Farris said. “It’s mainly just making sure that communication gets out very well, and that we’re able to communicate with the students on what is expected on Election Day.”
More than 40,000 IU students could potentially vote in Monroe County.
Farris said Monroe County Election Central is working closely with IU’s Political and Civic Engagement program, as well as College Democrats and College Republicans, to distribute information about voter ID requirements. She said she is also working to build a relationship with IU’s student government to increase student awareness.
“We want to make sure that nobody feels like they are being disenfranchised,” Farris said. “We're not doing this because we feel like this is something that needs to be done. We're doing this because it's the law that was changed.”
Farris said students with questions about acceptable identification can contact or visit the Monroe County Election Central office or they can visit the BMV for information on obtaining a state-issued ID.
