Indiana’s Ban on College IDs for Voting Threatens Purdue Student Turnout

Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 10, passed last April, has sparked a fresh battle over voting rights as it strips away the ability of Purdue University students to use their college IDs to vote. Just a day before Purdue’s early voting began, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s block on the law, leaving students scrambling to find alternate forms of ID.

Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita hailed the ruling as a “common sense protection” against voter fraud, claiming it closes loopholes and ensures election integrity. But Purdue political science professor James McCann calls this rationale “absolutely clear” nonsense, pointing to years of research showing voter fraud is virtually nonexistent in Indiana or nationwide.

“The law’s real effect will be to depress turnout,” McCann warns. Voting experts agree that adding ID requirements often discourages participation, especially among young voters who may lack easy access to state-issued IDs.

Purdue students face practical barriers to compliance. The nearest Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles office is a 30-minute bus ride or an hour’s walk from campus, and students must provide extensive paperwork proving citizenship and residency. Student leaders like Kye Benford and Emre Gulec see these hurdles as deliberate “friction” designed to suppress student votes and tilt outcomes toward Republicans.

The controversy echoes last year’s dispute that nearly shut down Purdue’s on-campus voting site, highlighting ongoing efforts to restrict student access to the ballot. Democrat State Senate candidate David Sanders calls the law “contradictory” to Purdue’s civic literacy graduation requirement, underscoring the tension between encouraging civic engagement and erecting barriers to voting.

While some students fear the law will dampen turnout, others see it as a call to action. “It can also really be a motivating factor for students to get more involved, more engaged civically,” says Benford.

Indiana’s crackdown on student IDs is the latest front in a nationwide push to restrict voting access under the guise of preventing fraud. The evidence says otherwise. This law is less about protecting democracy and more about shaping it by keeping young, diverse voters off the rolls. Purdue students and their allies will have to fight harder than ever to make their voices heard.