The Monroe County Election Board says student votes cast during the Senate Bill 10 injunction window should be counted.

A law passed in April 2025 prohibits the use of student IDs as valid identification when voting, arguing they do not prove Indiana residency. State-issued university IDs have been accepted for nearly 20 years as long as they included a name, photo, and expiration date.

Nonprofit activist groups Count US IN and Women4Change, along with an Indiana University student, filed a lawsuit against election officials in May 2025 challenging the law.

Early voting in Indiana began on April 7. On April 14, a district court issued an injunction blocking enforcement of the student ID law, saying roughly 40,000 students could be affected. However, on Monday, a Court of Appeals judge stayed that injunction, putting the law back into effect.

“We're just doing the best we can in terms of training packets and poll worker training to make sure that they have the most up to date information from whatever the judge's ruling is,” Monroe County Clerk Nicole Brown said.

The Monday ruling from an Appellate Court judge found issue with the injunction coming during an election session. The decision reads, “We view the risk of disruption to Indiana’s primary election as very serious. In no uncertain terms, the district court’s injunction will alter who can cast a ballot in this election.”

The ruling said that with early voting underway and the May 5 primary approaching, a preliminary injunction would be impractical.

Brown says at least one student voted using a student ID during the injunction window. She believes the ballot should still count under a state statute preventing voter eligibility challenges based solely on student status or residence in student housing.

“This can change back and forth between now, literally between now and Election Day,” Brown said. “On this very day, at this very moment, we cannot accept student IDs to vote.”