Pennsylvania colleges try to make school IDs compliant with voter ID law
28 June, 2012
category: Education, Government
Student IDs from Pennsylvania’s higher education institutions may comply with the state’s new voter ID law but only if the ID cards contain an expiration date. Otherwise, students who don’t have other forms of identification, such as a driver’s license–which out-of-state students don’t have–won’t be voting.
A recent survey of the state’s 110 colleges and universities showed only 15 printed IDs with expiration dates. Many of the state’s system schools don’t include expiration dates on their ID cards.
The best and cheapest method is to supply expiration date stickers which can be affixed to existing ID cards. There is otherwise little reason for colleges to include an expiration date on student IDs, given degree programs that vary in length, and students who opt to transfer.
Many cards are also electronic, meaning they can be turned on or off at any time and can hold within themselves information such as birth date and expected graduation year.
“If there’s an expiration date on it,” said system spokesman Kenn Marshal,”the only reason it’s there is for voter ID.”
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