Starting July 1, Indiana college students will no longer be able to use university-issued photo IDs to vote in person. Senate Bill 10, passed earlier this year, updates the state’s voter ID law to require identification issued by state or federal government agencies.
The new law excludes photo IDs from public universities, which had previously been accepted at the polls. Acceptable forms of identification now include documents such as an Indiana driver’s license or U.S. passport.
Sean Savage, a political science professor at Saint Mary’s College, said the move aligns with a broader national trend among Republican-led legislatures.
“Indiana’s kind of a national leader, you might say, in the movement—at least among Republicans—to require valid photo IDs for voting,” Savage said.
Republican lawmakers who supported the bill said it aims to prevent double-voting, particularly by out-of-state students who may remain registered in their home states.
“Students who are residents of other states... and then they use their university-issued photo IDs to vote here, even though they may still be registered to vote back in their home states,” Savage explained.
Supporters argue the law improves election security and aligns registration and voting standards. Savage said Republican legislators have emphasized that consistency.
“While a state-issued university ID was good enough to vote, it wasn’t good enough to register,” he said. “So Republicans might claim, we’re just strengthening the consistency between what you need to register and what you need to actually vote.”
Democrats and voting rights advocates have criticized the law, saying it creates barriers for young voters—especially students who live and study in Indiana but come from other states.
With the law set to take effect ahead of the fall election, students planning to vote in Indiana may need to update their ID before heading to the polls.
