By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 7, 2025
New laws passed during the 2025 session of the Indiana General Assembly that expand the state’s proof-of-citizenship voting requirements have brought fresh allegations that the statutes violate federal protections and renew the potential of a lawsuit being filed against the state.
Voting-rights advocacy organizations sent a letter on July 1 to Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales and Indiana Election Division co-directors, Bradley King and Angela Nussmeyer, asserting three new state laws, which took effect July 1, appear to violate the National Voter Registration Act.
The advocates, which include the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Common Cause Indiana, contend the proof-of-citizenship requirements in the statutes could discriminate against Hoosier voters who are naturalized citizens. If the alleged NVRA violations are not corrected within 90 days of the receipt of the letter, the voting-rights groups said they may pursue litigation to block or overturn the laws.
“Given that several new Indiana voting laws unfairly target naturalized citizen community members because they require proof-of-citizenship documentation and cross checking data with unreliable systems, it was an important step forward for us to send this letter, dated July 1, the day that a number of voting restrictions go into effect in Indiana,” Ami Gandhi, CLCCR director of strategic initiatives and the Midwest voting rights program, said. “These laws threaten to disenfranchise many eligible voters and threaten to silence marginalized community members.”
This is the second letter these organizations have sent to state election officials this year regarding proof-of-citizenship provisions possibly violating federal laws. In an April notification letter, the groups warned the secretary of state and the Indiana Election Division that House Enrolled Act 1264, which passed the legislature in 2024 but included a citizenship documentation provision that did not take effect until July 1 of this year, could violate the NVRA and Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The passage of House Enrolled Act 1680 and Senate Enrolled Act 10 this year prompted the July notification letter.
Also in the two letters, the voting-rights groups have requested communications, instructions, and guidance between state and county election officials related to the implementation of the new proof-of-citizenship voter requirements. The advocates said they would keep the individualized voter information confidential and use it to identify and help voters who might have to prove their legal status to retain their right to vote.
The July letter notes the secretary of state’s office has not responded to the records request at all. While advocacy groups have had conversations about the request with the Indiana Election Division, officials have not provided anything. The Election Division has maintained that the documents are confidential or are not public records under state law and that the request did not follow the state’s requirements for requesting access.
Gandhi indicated the advocacy groups are willing to work with the state to avoid litigation.
“We remain open to conversation and would welcome discussion with the Indiana Election Division, Indiana Secretary of State’s office and other stakeholders,” Gandhi said. “We appreciate the hard work in Indiana and beyond to carry out our elections. It’s a very important public service. We’re grateful for our government leaders’ work to implement our elections and would welcome the opportunity to dialogue about the need to correct the legal violations.”
The other voter-rights groups signing the letters to the secretary of state and the Election Division were the League of Women Voters of Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, and the NAACP Indiana State Conference.
Common Cause Indiana has been alerting voters to HEA 1264, sending guidance on what people should do if they receive a letter demanding proof of citizenship from the local board of elections.
“This bill that seeks to remove law-abiding U.S. citizens from the voter rolls is an attack on all citizens and our right to the vote,” Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said in a statement. “If the state can take away one citizen’s right to the ballot, they can take away anyone’s rights.”
In response to questions about how this law would be implemented so that naturalized citizens were not wrongly removed, Morale’s office said the Election Division would be in charge of establishing the procedures.
“It’s the role of the bi-partisan Indiana Election Division to develop and distribute guidance on voter registration procedures to local voter registration board and election officials,” Morale’s office said in a statement. “The Indiana Election Division has been distributing guidance/notice to county officials throughout all 92 counties.”
The Indiana Citizen also reached out to multiple county clerks, seeking information as to how they were going to cross check their registration rolls but none responded to the inquiry.
Both HEA 1264 and HEA 1680 rely on the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ list of individuals holding a temporary driver’s license or temporary identification card to identify potential non-U.S. citizen voters. Under HEA 1264, which applies to people already registered to vote, and HEA 1680, which covers people submitting a voter registration application, individuals flagged as having temporary credentials must provide proof-of-citizenship documents within 30 days or they will be removed from the voter rolls.
Voting-rights advocates contend the BMV does not regularly update the list of temporary credentials, so individuals who had driving privileges as immigrants, but then became citizens, might still be identified as having temporary lawful status. Consequently, the groups say, unlike U.S.-born citizens, naturalized citizens could be singled out and made to prove their citizenship status to prevent losing their right to vote.
The July letter notes HEA 1264 mandates that proof-of-citizenship documents be kept confidential. Also, it provides an appeals process allowing individuals who are unable to present citizenship papers in time to contest their removal from the rolls and receive a hearing by the county election board. However, HEA 1680 does not include either protection.
A provision in SEA 10 could further disenfranchise some voters. County voter registration officials are required to “perform list maintenance” within 48 hours of receiving information that a registered voter has not provided proof of citizenship after being given 30 days to do so.
The advocacy groups said the 48-hour requirement exacerbates the “harmful and unlawful effects” of the proof-of-citizenship voting laws. Namely, some voters could be removed from the registration rolls after the deadline for registering to vote, so they would have no opportunity to register and cast a ballot in the upcoming election.
“Restrictions claiming to protect election integrity should be designed to address actual substantive concerns and must conform with federal laws protecting voters’ rights,” the advocates asserted in the July letter. “HEA 1680’s New-Registrant Citizenship Crosscheck Requirement, SEA 10’s 48-Hour Requirement, and HEA 1264’s Current-Voter Citizenship Crosscheck Requirement fail on both fronts.”
According to an analysis by the Voting Rights Lab, an increasing number of state legislatures have been debating proof-of-citizenship laws in recent years. Twenty-two states, as of April 1, 2025, had considered imposing a requirement on voters to document their citizen status, which compares to 14 states in 2024 and seven states in 2023.
Also, a similar mandate was included in President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections, issued March 25, 2025, and the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a preliminary injunction blocking the requirement to show documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in an April 24, 2025, order.
The Voting Rights Lab also asserted proof-of-citizenship laws create a “bureaucratic, costly nightmare for election administrators.” Voter ID laws apply to both federal and state elections, but citizenship requirements pertain only to state elections. Consequently, the proof-of-citizenship states would need to create a voter registration roll for federal elections and another one for state elections.
Individuals flagged by the Indiana BMV as having a temporary credential will receive a letter in the mail and have 30 days to provide proof of citizenship to the local voter registration office. To prove their citizenship, individuals would have to present their birth certificates, U.S. passports, naturalization documents or any proof-of -citizenship document or method established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Under the new state law, these records are confidential and will not be accessible by the public.
The Voting Rights Lab said the process for obtaining passports and birth certificates can be “both expensive and frustrating.”
While research shows that 89% of Americans over 18 have a driver’s license, only about half of voting-age Americans have a U.S. passport, according to VRL. In Indiana, that number is even lower with just 35.5% of Hoosiers holding a passport.
Married women, in particular, may face a unique challenge. The VRL noted that women who marry and take their spouse’s name will not be able to show their birth certificates as proof of citizenship, since the names they are currently using will not match what is on their birth certificates.
“These burdensome new laws threaten to disenfranchise millions of U.S. citizens, particularly communities who do not have – or cannot afford to obtain – a passport,” the Voting Rights Lab said in its analysis. “Voters in rural areas, low-income voters, and people of color – groups already more likely to face challenges obtaining ID – are especially at risk.”
Morales’ office noted that in the event an individual’s voter registration was canceled, he or she could re-register. Eligible Indiana residents will have until April 1, 2026, to register to vote for the May 2026 primary election.
Common Cause Indiana is offering to help any citizen confirm their voter registration. “If you have questions, reach out and we will help protect your rights as a U.S. citizen to vote,” Vaughn said, adding individuals can email their inquiries to lortas@commoncause.org.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
