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Pennsylvania colleges try to make school IDs compliant with voter ID law

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Student IDs from Pennsylvania’s higher education institutions may comply with the state’s new voter ID law but only if the ID cards contain an expiration date. Otherwise, students who don’t have other forms of identification, such as a driver’s license–which out-of-state students don’t have–won’t be voting.

A recent survey of the state’s 110 colleges and universities showed only 15 printed IDs with expiration dates. Many of the state’s system schools don’t include expiration dates on their ID cards.


The best and cheapest method is to supply expiration date stickers which can be affixed to existing ID cards. There is otherwise little reason for colleges to include an expiration date on student IDs, given degree programs that vary in length, and students who opt to transfer.

Many cards are also electronic, meaning they can be turned on or off at any time and can hold within themselves information such as birth date and expected graduation year.

“If there’s an expiration date on it,” said system spokesman Kenn Marshal,”the only reason it’s there is for voter ID.”

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The push is on by some Pennsylvania advocacy groups to get voter ID-compliant cards into the hands of students before the November election.

A recent survey by the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group found that student IDs at 95 of 110 Pennsylvania college campuses did not meet the state’s new voter ID law, specifically providing IDs with expiration dates and photos. Student IDs at a few colleges did not even contain photos, PennPIRG reported.

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A proposed bill that would enable student IDs issued by Tennessee state colleges and universities to double at voting credentials has failed to pass.

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While colleges and universities struggle to make sure their students can legally qualify to vote in the November election, another issue has cropped up, at least in one state. What about high school IDs that may meet voting law requirements but aren’t specifically mentioned in a voter ID law?

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The University of Pennsylvania is embarking on a plan to replace its magnetic stripe-based PennCards with smart cards that will enable contactless access to academic buildings, college housing and other controlled areas, reports The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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