Columbus, Ohio — Voting in Ohio for out-of-state students is becoming increasingly challenging due to newly implemented ID requirements under a law introduced in 2023. Previously, attending the polls required minimal effort from these students, who could use various documents as proof of residency. Now, the acceptable forms are restricted to Ohio state IDs, driver’s licenses, passports, and military-related IDs.
Under the umbrella of Republican-sponsored HB 458, these changes mark a significant pivot from former leniencies that assisted student participation in elections, which included frequent shuttle services provided by campuses to usher students to polling stations during the chill of November.
Jakob Burdick, vice president of UDayton Votes, expressed his concerns regarding the hesitancy among students about swapping their home-state IDs for Ohio-issued ones. Many students lack the time to obtain new ID cards, while others face parental reluctance towards invalidating their original state identification. This hesitation is creating substantial registration challenges as Election Day draws near.
This tightening of voter ID laws is not isolated to Ohio. Across the United States, primarily in states with Republican-led legislatures, similar restrictions have been enacted post-2020. The genesis of many restrictive voting laws can be traced to unfounded claims of widespread election fraud promoted by former President Donald Trump. States like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, critical in Presidential elections, have introduced multiple restrictive laws with potentially significant impacts on student voters.
Such measures stand to potentially undermine Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign efforts, which lean heavily on garnering student votes — a demographic that played a crucial role in the 2020 victory of President Joe Biden. New restrictions may dissuade student turnout, particularly among those who are already ambivalent about voting due to various political stances, thus affecting electoral outcomes.
Students are often first-time voters who face unique challenges such as differentiating their voting address from their permanent residence, along with typically hectic schedules. Slight legislative changes could heavily sway whether they vote at all, explains Andrew Garber, a counsel for a democracy program at a New York-based public policy think tank. Voter ID laws, in particular, have notably stymied student voting access, as seen in states that either prohibit student IDs as a form of voter verification or impose conflicting rules about their use.
Additionally, some states have introduced proof-of-citizenship requirements demanding that voters provide a birth certificate or passport when registering. This requirement poses significant barriers for traditional-aged college students, who may not readily have access to these documents.
Changes in absentee ballot procedures further complicate the voting process for students. The window for returning these ballots has been reduced in several states, and restrictions now limit ballot collection and delivery assistance from third parties, including educational institutions. As a result, colleges are reevaluating how best to assist students in navigating these new hurdles, including basic voting procedures unfamiliar to many young voters, such as mailing ballots.
Looking ahead, universities play a crucial role in equipping students with accurate and current information regarding state voting laws and deadlines. Michelle Kanter Cohen, a senior counsel and policy director at an elections center, stresses the importance of educational institutions in keeping students informed about these changes to ensure they can effectively participate in democracy despite new restrictions.
As new laws reshape the voting landscape, the onus falls on educational institutions and policymakers to bridge the gap between legal restrictions and voter turnout, especially among the youth whose electoral participation is vital for a functioning democracy.