Idaho’s law restricting voter registration using student IDs was challenged in a court of appeals on Wednesday, Sept. 17. The Seattle Ninth District Court of Appeals heard the case March for Our Lives Idaho v. McGrane.
When Idaho’s legislature passed House Bill 124 in 2023, preventing the use of student IDs for voter registration, the League of Women Voters and Babe Vote filed suit.
On April 11, 2024, the Supreme Court of Idaho came to a unanimous decision to uphold the law passed a year prior. The plaintiffs appealed the decision on Oct. 16, 2024.
David Fox, the attorney representing March for Our Lives Idaho, claimed “the record supports the conclusion that the amendments to the law were a targeted strike on young voters.” Fox identified three issues with the previous court’s decision: whether the ruling was correct, if this law somehow violated the 26th Amendment and if there is a dispute of fact.
Fox said that March for Our Lives Idaho “has been unable to help 26% of its 18- and 19-year-old voters with registration after the law passed, creating a negative effect for voter turnout.” He asked the court to allow the decision to hold a trial.
Michael Zarin, the attorney representing Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, said, “States have the Constitutional authority to make elections as easy and secure as possible.” Student IDs are not a secure way for voting registration, as the only limitation to receiving one is that you must be a student.
The University of Idaho’s student ID cards read, “Not for Official Identification,” indicating that students can’t use their ID for anything that requires official identity verification, voting registration included.
“Most voters who have a student ID don’t use it, as they already have a driver’s license,” Zarin said, and since driver’s licenses are given by the state, they are an acceptable form of identification, along with state IDs. Zarin asked the court to affirm the previous decision in 2024.
The Appellate Court has yet to release a decision.
Anna Capello can be reached at [email protected].