A bill that will prohibit students from using their student IDs as proof of identification when voting is on its way to Indiana Governor Mike Braun’s desk to be signed into law or vetoed. He has seven days to do so after it is signed by the President of the Senate— on the eighth day, the bill automatically becomes law.
Senate Enrolled Act 10, formerly named Senate Bill 10, specifies that proof of identification may not include a document issued by an educational institution, affecting student voters across Indiana.
Public Law 109-2005 requires Indiana residents to present a photo ID before casting a ballot at polls on Election Day. Currently, Indiana allows photo IDs that display the voter's photo, a name that matches the one listed on the voter registration record, an expiration date and is issued by the State of Indiana or the government.
According to the Campus Vote Project, 12 states do not allow some use of student IDs as voter ID. Under Indiana’s policy, student IDs are allowed provided it is not distributed by a private institution. IU’s student IDs, CrimsonCards, meet all the requirements needed for it to be counted as proof of identity at the polls.
A news release by Indiana Senate Republicans claimed this bill, authored by Indiana Sen. Blake Doriot, would strengthen voter identification.
“There has been a growing concern about election security in recent years,” Doriot said in the news release. “Student IDs are not an accurate form of voter identification as they don’t confirm a voter’s residency.”
IU political science professor Gerald Wright said there’s flaws in the reasoning behind SEA 10.
“In the introduction and when they talk about the bill, they don’t even talk about correcting actual election fraud because there’s no evidence of it,” Wright said. “Where does that concern come from?”
The Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Map has an interactive tool providing sampling of proven instances of election fraud. According to the map, the most recent case in Indiana was the criminal conviction of James Bartlett for his involvement in an absentee ballot trafficking scheme during the Lawrenceburg 2019 municipal election.
Nationally, members of President Donald Trump’s campaign have claimed the 2020 presidential election was stolen. This resulted in over 60 court cases, according to the Campaign Legal Center, in which judges found no merit to the claim there was widespread voter fraud.
Subsequent investigations by reporters, researchers and firms hired by Trump himself have also found no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
“The president and many around him pushed this idea that the election had been stolen,” former chair of the House Republican Conference Liz Cheney stated in February 2021 according to the CLC during an event hosted by the Reagan Institute. “And that is a dangerous claim. It wasn’t true.”
College Democrats at IU president, Anushka Pandey, shared similar confusion on where this perceived threat to election security came from. She, along with other students from different institutions, testified against SEA 10 on March 12 at Indiana’s Statehouse.
“I have seen firsthand how hard it is for students to vote as it is, and how difficult it is to get students to vote in the first place,” Pandey said. “This isn’t just a voter registration issue that’s being created in a vacuum, it’s affecting real people.”
While testifying, Pandey said it was clear that students were not put at the forefront of this bill. According to Pandey, something that came up frequently was the use of digital student IDs.
“They not only thought you could use a CrimsonCard for voter registration, which has never been true, but they also thought you could use the digital version day of,” Pandey said.
Wright says he does see a concern in college students being registered in both places and voting in both places, which is illegal.
College students can either register to vote at the address in which they live while attending school, or the address where they live while not attending school. Pandey says SEA 10 would add extra steps for students who do not have other forms of voting ID readily available.
“You have to go through the strenuous process of going to the BMV and take time out of your school day,” Pandey said. “Making sure that, in your college dorm or apartment, you have all of the important identifying material. Which of course the Statehouse did not consider or care about.”
To obtain a free photo ID for voting purposes, prospective voters will need to have the necessary documentation and transportation to a Bureau of Motor Vehicles location. To register to vote in Indiana, out of state students need to provide proof of residency. Otherwise, they need to register in their home county, participate in early voting or apply for a mail-in ballot.
Nicole Browne, county clerk and Monroe County Election Board secretary, believes SEA 10 is taking something away based on a non-existent problem.
“That ID is a way of allowing them to use a card that is probably with them or on their person all the time.” Browne said. “It is simply disheartening, and I don’t think it had to be this way.”
Browne hopes this legislative action will not discourage young people from voting moving forward, despite it being a potential barrier.
“I still remember how important it was to me to have the opportunity to vote,” Brown said. “We would hope that communities and clubs on the IU campus will help us get the word out with respect to voter education.”
Monroe County has also made plans to change their voting system to one where any registered voter could vote at any county voting place. Residents can provide feedback on vote centers before the Monroe County Election Board’s meeting May 19.
