A federal appeals court lifted a block on an Indiana law barring student identification cards from being used for voting in elections, as early voting in the state’s primaries nears its third week.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit granted a stay pending appeal of a lower court’s ruling last week that had found the state’s ban on using student IDs as voter IDs unconstitutional under the First and 14th amendments. The brief order means the state may enforce its law limiting valid forms of voter ID, with the appeals court panel saying a full “reasoned decision” explaining its ruling will be published on the docket in the coming days.
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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) celebrated the appeals court panel’s ruling as a “big win for election integrity” in the Hoosier State.
🚨BIG WIN for Election Integrity in Indiana!
— AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) April 20, 2026
Today the 7th Circuit GRANTED our emergency motion and STAYED the preliminary injunction against our commonsense law (Senate Enrolled Act 10), which clarifies that college- and university-issued IDs cannot be used to vote.
Our voter… pic.twitter.com/V4hOefzDX0
“Our voter ID law now fully applies again,” Rokita said in a post on X. “Only secure, government-issued IDs like Indiana driver’s licenses are accepted at the polls. This commonsense protection is needed to close loopholes, prevent potential fraud by out-of-state or ineligible voters, ensure every ballot belongs to a verified Hoosier, and preserve public confidence in fair, honest, and transparent elections.”
Count US IN, the activist group that filed the lawsuit against the student ID ban, vowed to continue its legal challenge.
“Despite this temporary setback, we remain firmly committed to this case and will keep fighting to permanently block SB 10 and ensure every Hoosier has a fair opportunity to make their voice heard at the ballot box,” Jalyn Radziminski, executive and lead policy director for the group, said in a statement Monday.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, ruled last week that the law, which held that student IDs were not valid forms of voter identification, was unlawful in part because of how it disproportionately affected the ability of students and young people to vote.
The state defended the law, SB 10, as intending to increase confidence in elections by simplifying which IDs are valid for voting. In a filing to the court, Indiana officials argued that students’ IDs from state universities vary too much in appearance and content to be considered reliable forms of voter ID. Also, the officials argued, several schools do not include an expiration date on their student IDs.
The three-judge panel, which halted Young’s ruling, included U.S. Circuit Judges Michael Brennan, an appointee of President Donald Trump; Michael Scudder, also a Trump appointee; and Joshua Kolar, an appointee of former President Joe Biden.
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN INDIANA BAN ON STUDENT IDS FOR VOTING
The appeals court ruling comes in the middle of early voting for Indiana’s May 5 primary election, and months ahead of the Nov. 3 general election nationwide. The stay pending appeal means the law is likely to remain in effect for the primary election, but the appeals court could resolve the case before the general election in November.
In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is set to rule on a key election law case: whether state laws allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but counted after are lawful. The ruling in Watson v. RNC will have sweeping implications for the states that have those laws ahead of the hotly contested midterm elections in November.
