UPDATE: Idaho students can’t use school IDs to vote, judge rules. Advocates plan to appeal
The League of Women Voters of Idaho and BABE VOTE plan to appeal this week’s dismissal of their lawsuit challenging two new Idaho laws that prohibit students from using their school-issued identification cards to vote.
An Ada County judge Monday ruled the laws are constitutional and dismissed the challenge. Members of the voting groups said they plan to appeal the case to the Idaho Supreme Court. Kendal Shaber, a League of Women Voters board member, said the restrictions don’t “just burden students.”
“People who have moved, people with disabilities, people in care facilities, people who are not housed, and new citizens will also find it difficult or impossible to overcome these burdens put in place by Idaho’s Legislature,” Shaber said in a news release. “Many people who have been voters in Idaho for decades, will find the new registration requirements difficult to complete.”
BABE VOTE and the League of Women Voters of Idaho this year sued Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, alleging the laws unconstitutionally burden young voters. McGrane, a Republican, and Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, sponsored House Bills 124 and 340, which eliminated student IDs as a valid form of voter identification.
“The removal of student identification cards as permissible means of identification at the polls or for voter registration under HB 124 and HB 340 does not unduly burden voters; there are other valid and free means to identify oneself at the polls and for voter registration,” 4th Judicial District Judge Samuel Hoagland wrote in his decision. “Students are not a protected class.”
The legislation also created a new free voter identification card, which the Idaho Department of Transportation will issue when the laws go into effect Jan. 1.
According to data from the secretary of state’s office, 59 of 13,950 voters between 18 and 24 used student IDs to vote in the November 2022 election. Sam Sandmire, board member for the nonprofit BABE VOTE, said the data is “misleading” because not all Idaho counties record the type of IDs voters use.
“This legislation helped address inconsistencies in our law in an effort to build confidence in Idaho’s elections,” McGrane said in a news release following the decision. “I firmly believe that ensuring access to voting and maintaining security in elections are not conflicting goals.”
The League of Women Voters of Idaho and BABE VOTE educate the public about the electoral process and encourage young people to vote. Attorneys for the groups argued the new laws would create confusion for new Idaho residents and students and violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law and right to suffrage under the Idaho Constitution.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, whose office litigated the case, said the lawsuit was “meritless.”
“Rather than encouraging young people to obtain their free state voter IDs, advocacy groups took legal action against the state, alleging age discrimination,” Labrador said in a news release. “We are pleased with this victory but acknowledge that the battle is not over. Other liberal advocacy groups are bringing the same claims in federal court, and we will continue to defend these laws.”
A separate lawsuit filed in federal court is ongoing. March for Our Lives Idaho, a gun safety advocacy group, also sued to block the laws, alleging they discriminate against voters based on their age, which would violate the 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
This story was updated Oct. 6, 2023, after a news release about the decision to appeal the ruling.
This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 4:41 PM.
