A federal judge ruled this week that it is permissible for the state of Indiana to use college student identification cards for voting purposes.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young for the Southern District of Indiana granted the plaintiffs Count Us In and Women4Change Indiana a preliminary injunction against a ban that was invoked by Senate Bill (SB) 10.
“Plaintiffs have shown that they are likely to succeed on their claim that SB 10 imposes unconstitutional burdens on students and young voters in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” Young said in his April 14 decision. “They have also established irreparable harm and satisfied the remaining requirements for a preliminary injunction.”
SB 10, signed into law by Indiana Governor Mike Braun a year ago on April 16, 2025, prohibited the use of identification issued by educational institutions as valid proof of identity for voting purposes as a way to strengthen voter registration security.
The plaintiffs sued last year.
The state of Indiana plans to appeal the reversal, according to Fox News.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
"Indiana’s voter ID law is critical to election security and integrity," the office told the Indiana Capital Chronicle in a post on X. "Courts shouldn’t be watering the law down by doling out special exemptions to some students and faculty. We’ll keep fighting to uphold commonsense election rules."
The bill also required strict maintenance of voter rolls to ensure their accuracy.
Government-issued college ID cards had been accepted for nearly twenty years when they listed a voter’s name, photograph, expiration date, and were issued by the state or federal government.
In 2024, two-thirds of students used a student ID to vote, according to the Monroe County Election Supervisor.
Indiana University is located in Monroe County.
While federal courts have reopened the campus gates for Indiana voters with a student ID card, the governor of New Hampshire signed a new law that excludes student ID cards for voting purposes.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte enacted House Bill 323 last week, prohibiting student IDs as an acceptable form of identification to cast a ballot.
Without the student ID option, students must now provide a passport or a New Hampshire-issued driver's license to cast a standard ballot because under the new law, only driver’s licenses, passports, and military identification are permissible.
Independent Voter Project estimates that of the more than 1.09 million total registered voters in New Hampshire, the 18-to-24 age demographic makes up some 8 to 10 percent of the electorate.