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Voter ID laws still confusing to many students

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

As the November election draws nearer, college students in some states still aren’t sure what kind of identification they’ll need to vote.

For example, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Indiana and Georgia are among states with voter ID requirements in place. So farm, Tennessee is the only state that bans use of any student ID. Others limit use to state institutions or require proof that the ID is valid, such as an expiration date.


Legal challenges in Wisconsin, Texas, South Carolina and Virginia have put the laws there on hold.

Pennsylvania enables student IDs to be used at the polls providing they have expiration dates. To meet that requirement, many schools are providing expiration date stickers that can be affixed to the student IDs.

Voter ID proponents say the laws are needed to combat voter fraud. The intent, they say, is to make sure people who are voting are who they say they are and have the right to vote.

“In this day and age, nothing could be more rational than requiring a photo ID when voters come to the polls,” Pennsylvania’s senior deputy attorney general, Patrick Cawley, said recently when defending the state’s new law in court.

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Tougher voter ID laws in many states have some wondering if they could hinder voter turnout among college students.

There seems to be no definitive ID law. What’s required at the voting booth varies from state to state. Tennessee, for example, requires voters to present a photo ID to vote, but student IDs aren’t considered valid for that purpose. A Texas law, which is now in the courts, enables use of a concealed weapons permit as a voter ID, but not a student ID card.

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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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The Campus Vote Project blog, a campaign to help college students better understand their voting rights, says voter ID laws can create confusion among students, even in states that enable the use of student IDs at the polls.

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In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, Robert A. Pastor makes a case for the implementation of biometric voter IDs in America because they can help solve problems with voter fraud and migration.

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