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Federal Judge Blocks Indiana Ban on Student IDs for Voting

The decision restores a practice used for nearly two decades and will apply during the May 5 primary.

Overview

  • Judge Richard Young issued the preliminary injunction Tuesday, April 14, restoring student IDs as valid voter identification for early voting and the May 5 primary.
  • He found the plaintiffs likely to prevail under the First and Fourteenth Amendments because the restriction places extra burdens on students and young voters.
  • Young said the state showed no evidence that student IDs caused fraud or confusion and he rejected the election‑eve change argument since Indiana had long accepted these IDs.
  • The state, facing a suit by Count Us IN, Women4Change Indiana and IU student Josh Montagne, argued campus cards vary in design, and it has moved to appeal to the Seventh Circuit.
  • Poll workers will accept public university IDs that show a name, photo and expiration date, which many students rely on when they do not have an Indiana driver’s license.