New Voter I.D. Laws Target College Students.

It is getting harder for college students to vote. In Tennessee, a recently enacted law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls explicitly states that ID cards issued by colleges and universities cannot be used to identify a voter. That means that if the only photo ID you have is a student ID card issued by the University of Tennessee, for example, you cannot vote in Tennessee. In Wisconsin, a provision in the newly enacted voter ID law prohibits college students from using university-issued housing lists as evidence that they live in the state. In Pennsylvania, the new voter identification law disallows most college-issued ID cards and out-of-state driver’s licenses from being used to identify a voter. Many universities in Pennsylvania are redesigning their student ID cards in an effort to comply with the new law; however, it is not clear whether any college-issued ID card, no matter how it is designed, would be accepted as valid identification under the Pennsylvania law. Several other states are also considering voter ID laws with provisions that would make it more difficult for college students to vote. In California, you do not have to produce photo identification at the polls in order to vote.