Voter ID Laws
- Find out if your state has a voter ID requirement
- Thirty-six state laws request or require voters to show some form of identification at the polls.
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Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., do not require any documentation to vote at the polls.
Exceptions to the Voter ID Requirements
- Military and overseas voters who vote by absentee ballot under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) are exempt from ALL voter ID requirements.
- Elderly and disabled voters are exempt from federal first-time voter ID requirements but might not be exempt from state voter ID laws.
- Voter ID laws change frequently. If you have any questions you should contact your Local Election Official.
Student ID as Voter ID
- College students often face challenges when it comes to voting. One common issue is the need to bring an approved form of ID to the polls.
- Voter ID laws differ from state to state—some don't require an ID at all, while others have strict photo ID rules that only allow certain types of ID. In some states, student IDs from colleges and universities are accepted; in others, they aren’t.
Note: Some voter ID laws also apply to absentee voting but this brief focuses on in-person voting requirements.
Student ID as Voter ID. Image source: Jane Johnston, "Student ID as Voter ID," 2023.
Accessed via https://campusvoteproject.org/student-id-as-voter-id/.
