Braun signs voter registration-related bill that does not allow student ID’s as proper identification to vote

INDIANAPOLIS — Under a new bill recently signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, student IDs will not be accepted as identification to vote.

Senate Bill 10, a voter registration-centered bill, was signed by Braun on Wednesday. This bill amends the state’s code concerning elections.

Authored by Indiana State Republican Senators Blake Doriot, Chris Garten and Mike Gaskill, the bill passed the Indiana House of Representatives on April 1 and the Indiana Senate on April 7.

According to the bill, a proof of identification for individuals to vote includes one that has the name of the individual, a photo, includes an expiration date and is issued by the United States or the state of Indiana, including:

• Indiana driver’s licenses
• Military ID cards
• State ID cards
• U.S. passports

This new bill specifies that the proof of identification term “does not include a document issued by an educational institution.”

Another portion of the code that is amended under the bill surrounds rules that Indiana counties have on voter list maintenance. The bill states that the county voter registration office is required to perform voter list maintenance within 48 hours of receiving information that requires a change, including:

• An individual’s death
• Confirmation that a person lives outside the county where the person is registered
• A voter’s failure to respond to a notice to require the registration to be reclassified as active
• Disfranchisement of the individual due to a criminal conviction
• A notice issued by the office that the individual has not provided proof of citizenship

Under the bill, each county will also be required to conduct a voter list maintenance program for each voter who has not cast a vote in the two most recent elections. The office will be required to mail a notice to the mailing address of the voter in this case.

The bill also requires the Indiana Secretary of State’s office to send requests to other states in the United States that would “share information” to make sure that an individual is not registered to vote in another state.

If an individual is registered to vote in another state, the bill directs the county’s voter registration office to conduct a voter list maintenance program with respect to the voter.

In a statement from the ACLU in Indiana, the organization said that it opposes this bill, stating that Indiana law already ensures that only citizens vote.

The organization said that this bill makes it more difficult for Hoosiers to vote, specifically stating that it places “an unnecessary and unjust burden on students who may not have another form of government ID.” The group also criticized other portions of the bill, specifically the portions surrounding the voter list maintenance program.

“Indiana continues to lag in voter participation. In 2024, only seven states had lower participation than Indiana,” the group said. “Our elected officials need to propose bold, creative policies to increase voter participation – not continue to pass unneeded laws that decrease it further.”