Can I Use My College Student ID to Vote?
Twenty states allow students to vote using a college student ID, but some students may need extra documentation to vote.
Updated on August 15, 2024
Credit: Image Credit: Michael Ciaglo / Stringer / Getty Images News- Twenty of the 37 states requiring an ID to vote accept some form of a college student ID.
- Georgia only allows public college and university student IDs.
- Most student ID-accepting states require the ID to have a photo. Other states may require an expiration date or a signature.
- The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced another nine valid college IDs on Aug. 14, making the total viable colleges, universities, and community colleges to 68.
Most states require some form of ID to participate in an election. If your state does, there’s a good chance you may be able to vote with your college student ID in November’s general election.
According to the Voting Rights Lab, an organization tracking voting laws in each state, 37 states require or request some form of identification to cast a ballot.
Within these voter ID states, 20 allow college students to use their school IDs as valid voter ID. Most require a photo on the student ID, while others add requirements like a signature, expiration date, or issuance by a specific institution.
Only two states — Tennessee and Idaho — expressly prohibit student IDs as acceptable forms of identification to vote.
If you live in one of these states, or another that doesn’t expressly permit student IDs for voting, you might be able to use a:
- Driver’s license
- Valid U.S. passport
- Government-issued ID (non-higher education)
- Concealed carry license
- Signed affidavit
- Bank statements
Read on for the specific rules in states that do allow you to use your college student ID to vote.
Which States Allow You to Use Your Student ID to Vote?
Your student ID must have a photo and be from a public or private college, university, technical, or professional school in Alabama. The state also allows digital student IDs and IDs from colleges in other states, according to the Alabama secretary of state website.
Your student ID must have a photo and be from an accredited postsecondary institution or trade school in the state, according to Arkansas’ constitution. You can also use your digital student ID if it’s from a college in Arkansas.
Your student ID must have a photo and be issued by a Colorado university, college, community or district college, or certain other in-state postsecondary schools, according to the Colorado secretary of state website.
Your student ID must have a photo, display an expiration date, and be issued by a public Indiana college. Your ID is still valid if it expired after the last election cycle (Nov. 8, 2022), according to the Indiana secretary of state website.
You can use your student ID from an Iowa high school or college with a photo and valid expiration date if you also have proof of your current residence, according to the Iowa secretary of state website.
Your student ID must have a photo and be a current and valid ID by a postsecondary institution accredited by the state, according to the Mississippi secretary of state.
Your student ID must have a photo and be within five years of the expiration date. According to the secretary of state, approved schools include:
- Dartmouth College
- A school in the University System of New Hampshire
- A school in the Community College System of New Hampshire
- A college, university, or career school licensed in the state
Voter ID is not required, but you can still use your student ID to vote if you didn’t provide identification when you registered, according to New Mexico’s secretary of state.
Your student ID must have a photo and be issued by a U.S. educational institution, according to the Board of Elections.
Your student ID must be issued by a high school or postsecondary institution in Virginia. You can also use a digital student ID if your school officially issued one, according to Virginia’s Department of Elections.
You can use your student ID to vote. Otherwise, you can use a provisional ballot, according to Washington statutes.
Your student ID must have a photo, issue date, your signature, and be within two years of the expiration date. If your ID is expired, you can still use it if you provide proof of current enrollment in a Wisconsin university, college, or technical college, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Your student ID must have a photo, be valid, and issued by a postsecondary institution in West Virginia, according to the secretary of state.
Your student ID must be issued by the University of Wyoming or Wyoming Community College, according to the secretary of state.
2024 Candidates’ Stances on Higher Education Issues
Interested in learning more about where the 2024 presidential and vice-presidential candidates stand on the top issues in higher education? Check out BestColleges’ coverage of where each candidate went to college and their views on higher education:
