Student IDs can be used to vote in Indiana, federal judge rules
Source: WBAA/WFYI Public Media/NPR Lafayette, IN
Published April 15, 2026 at 11:14 AM EDT
A federal judge ruled that Indiana’s ban on using student IDs to vote presented “unconstitutional burdens” in a decision released Tuesday.
Judge Richard Young, a senior district judge in the U.S. court serving the Southern District of Indiana, granted voter advocacy groups a preliminary injunction. The ruling is on the grounds plaintiffs were likely to succeed based on their First and Fourteenth amendment claims.
Voter advocacy groups and an Indiana University student sued the state last year following the passage of legislation that blocked the use of student IDs in voting on the grounds that they didn’t prove someone was an Indiana resident. Many state Democrats at the time noted that student voters would already have to prove residency when registering to vote, and the legislation seemed to target young voters.
In his decision, Young sided with those arguments, writing that the ban amounted to an “unconstitutional burden.”. “SB 10 marked the first time that Indiana singled out a previously acceptable form of ID and barred its use at the polls,” Young wrote. “Students are the only group that are told that their widely held, government-issued ID cannot be used to vote.”
Read more: https://www.wbaa.org/statewide/2026-04-15/student-ids-can-be-used-to-vote-in-indiana-federal-judge-rules
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/98-2026-04-14-Order-granting-preliminary-injunction.pdf