Tennessee’s new voter identification law allows most state and federally issued IDs to be used to vote, including work IDs issued to the faculty and staff of state-run colleges. But the student IDs issued at those same schools are specifically prohibited. That has caused some students to believe they are being targeted by the law, which takes effect in January.
“I think this is intended to keep in check the main people who voted our current president in,” Christopher Martin, vice president of Tennessee Federation of College Democrats and a junior at Tennessee State University, told The Tennessean. “It’s crazy that they can use the faculty ID but we can’t use the student ID.”
State Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, was one of the bill’s sponsors. She said allowing students at state universities to use their IDs would be unfair to those who attend private universities. She also said she was concerned about fraud.
“The main intent of the law is to make sure that people are not lying about who they are,” Maggart said. “I don’t know if anyone sells faculty IDs, but I do know they’re selling college IDs for students on the Internet.”
Full Article: Some college students feel targeted by TN voter ID – Elizabethton Star.