Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 10 into law on April 16, 2025, eliminating university-issued student IDs as an acceptable form of photo identification for voting. The bill’s passage marks a significant change to Indiana’s Voter ID law, first enacted in 2005.

The Indiana House of Representatives approved the amended legislation on April 2. The bill then returned to the Republican-majority State Senate, which passed it in a 39-9 vote along party lines.

Students who previously relied on campus IDs must now travel off-campus to DMV offices to secure the necessary identification, a step that voting rights advocates say could discourage participation.

Indiana’s decision reflects broader national debates over voter ID requirements, with Republicans arguing that stricter identification laws protect election integrity, while Democrats criticize such measures as tools to suppress voter turnout – especially among students and marginalized communities.

Before the new law, student IDs from Indiana’s public universities were valid photo identification at the polls, provided they included required elements like a photo and expiration date. However, registering to vote in Indiana has always required proof of residency, meaning students also needed a document showing where they lived – whether in the campus community or in their home state.

Where the prior Voter ID law allowed student IDs, Senate Bill 10 removes them from the list of acceptable credentials. Now only Indiana driver’s licenses, military ID cards, Indiana photo ID cards, and U.S. passports are accepted.

The number of Purdue students registering to vote locally fell sharply from 7,000 in 2020 to just 3,000 in 2024. Opponents of the new law expect that number to drop further with the elimination of student IDs as valid voter identification.

The change specifically impacts out-of-state students who previously used their university-issued IDs to cast ballots in Indiana.

Under the new law, students who wish to vote in Indiana must present both proof of residency and a government-issued photo ID – that is no longer their student ID. Those who do not already have an Indiana driver’s license or other valid ID must now obtain one or pay $165 for a U.S. passport.

A report in the IndyStar cites similar concerns among critics of the new law, suggesting it places an additional burden on college students, especially those from out of state. Students who previously relied on campus IDs must now travel off-campus to DMV offices to secure the necessary identification, a step that voting rights advocates say could discourage participation.

The Purdue Exponent reported that the number of Purdue University students registering to vote locally fell sharply from around 7,000 in 2020 to just 3,000 in 2024. Opponents of the new law expect that number to drop further with the elimination of student IDs as valid voter identification.