State of Election Administration Legislation 2025 Spring Report: Topics of note, Voter ID
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Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification |
March 20, 2025
By Ballotpedia staff
Voter ID
There are 194 bills that would make changes to voter identification provision. This includes bills that require a voter to provide identification while returning an absentee/mail-in ballot, change what types of identification are eligible for the purposes of voting, and modify drivers’ licenses to clarify when an individual is eligible to vote, among others.
In Wisconsin, lawmakers approved Republican-sponsored SJR 2 along party lines. The resolution is the second consideration of a ballot initiative referral to create a constitutional amendment to require voter ID. In Wisconsin, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment must pass the legislature in two consecutive sessions of the legislature before appearing on the ballot.
Wisconsin already requires voters to provide photo identification in most circumstances, but the initiative would incorporate the requirement into the state constitution. Voters will decide the measure at the state’s April 1 Spring general election.
With respect to ID requirements in the absentee voting process:
- HB 300 in Utah, discussed in more detail elsewhere in this report, would require voters to provide the last four digits of a state licence or social security number, or a photocopy of other eligible ID with a returned ballot. Voters who cannot meet these requirements must vote in-person.
- SB 1098 in Arizona, covered above, proposes new identification requirements for voters delivering a ballot to any voting location that accepts early mailed ballots.
- A Democratic-sponsored bill in North Carolina would clarify that overseas voters, including members of the military, do not need to submit a photocopy of ID with their ballot. The issue of identification requirements for these voters is at the center of ongoing litigation related to the 2024 North Carolina Supreme Court election, which has not been called as of publication. Republicans in the legislature have said they plan to introduce a bill that does the opposite and clarifies that these voters must provide identification.
Bills in states with Republican trifectas both restrict and expand the eligibility of student ID’s for the purposes of voting:
- SB 10, which passed the Indiana Senate on February 4, would disqualify documents issued by an educational institution as eligible voter identification. The bill would also make other changes to election laws, including increasing the frequency of some voter list maintenance activities. One Republican joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. A hearing on the bill was scheduled for March 12 in the lower chamber’s Elections and Apportionment Committee.
- In New Hampshire, HB 323 would remove student ID’s and out-of-state driver's or nondriver's identification cards from the list of eligible voter ID documents. The bill would still allow voters with an out-of-state ID to vote using that document so long as the voter has been registered to vote in New Hampshire for less than 63 days and, if a place last registered to vote is recorded, the ID is from that jurisdiction. As of publication, the bill was active in an executive session.
- A bill that passed the Montana Senate with bipartisan support on March 6 would move voter ID laws in the other direction by adding new eligible documents. If adopted, SB 276 would allow concealed carry permits and student ID’s issued by a school that is a member of the national association of intercollegiate athletics to be used at the polls. Montana has a Republican trifecta.
Several other states with Republican trifectas are considering physical changes to state identifications that more clearly indicate when someone is not an eligible voter, or newly requiring a photo ID at the polls:
- SF 302 in Iowa and Arkansas’ HB 1422 would both require state issued identifications to indicate whether the possessor is a U.S. citizen.
- In addition to physical changes to state ID’s, West Virginia’s HB 3016 would also require voters to present a photo identification before voting. The state currently has a non-photo voter ID requirement.
Republican lawmakers have introduced 80 bills related to voter ID across the 22 legislatures that have convened so far this year in a state with a Republican trifecta. In the 15 Democratic trifectas, Democratic lawmakers have introduced just seven bills related to voter ID this year, none of which have advanced.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
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About the authors
Joe Greaney is a staff writer on Ballotpedia's Marquee Team.
Ballotpedia Editor in Chief Geoff Pallay reviewed the report and provided feedback, as did Managing Editor Cory Eucalitto.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- About Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- Voting laws in the United States
- Election Policy
