Civil-rights advocates say Indiana’s new citizenship-verification rules could knock registered voters off the rolls just weeks before the May 5 primary, with many naturalized Hoosiers at particular risk. Under the law, anyone flagged by a state cross-check has 30 days to produce a birth certificate, U.S. passport, or naturalization papers or their registration is canceled. Critics say the system leans on outdated Bureau of Motor Vehicles records and a tight turnaround that can punish people who became citizens after first receiving temporary BMV credentials.
“Our understanding is that many United States citizens have been and continue to be erroneously flagged as noncitizens,” Ami Ghandi of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights told Indiana Capital Chronicle. That reporting traces the cross-check system to two bills passed in 2024 and 2025 and warns that naturalized voters who did everything by the book may still get caught in the sweep. County clerks say they are simply following the statute while advocates press for legal relief in court.
How the law works
Lawmakers directed the Indiana Election Division to run the statewide voter file against the Bureau of Motor Vehicles list of temporary credentials, then alert county officials when names match, ACLU of Indiana materials explain. The group warns the BMV list can be out of date, so people who later naturalized may still be tagged as noncitizens. Once flagged, voters have 30 days to send in a birth certificate, U.S. passport, or naturalization paper or their registration is canceled. Opponents say that process treats some registrants differently and effectively creates a two-tier system of voter verification.
Legal challenge
A coalition that includes the League of Women Voters of Indiana, Common Cause Indiana, and Hoosier Asian American Power has sued in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, arguing the statutes violate federal voting laws and will wrongly label U.S. citizens as noncitizens. The complaint details the challenged provisions and notes that replacing or obtaining naturalization documents can cost hundreds of dollars and take weeks, which makes a 30-day deadline a high bar for many voters. The full filing is available in the court record. Plaintiffs are asking a judge to temporarily block the cross-check rules while the case moves forward.
Timing could snare newly registered voters
Advocates also point to a very specific calendar crunch. Early in-person voting started April 7 and the primary is set for May 5, which means voters who first registered on April 6 might not get a full 30 days to track down and submit their paperwork. As reported by Indiana Capital Chronicle, that timeline has organizers scrambling to warn potentially affected voters and urging everyone to double-check their registration status. County officials say they are following state instructions while vendors and state staff work to smooth out implementation problems.
Tech hiccups raise the stakes
Some election insiders told IndyPolitics that the electronic poll books used at voting sites can freeze or lock up when they encounter voters who still need residency or citizenship verification. When that happens, counties can be forced to switch to manual checks on the fly. Those e-poll book issues, the outlet reported, could slow down lines or increase the odds of clerical errors if fixes are not fully in place by Election Day. Vendors and technicians were working in the weeks before the primary to push software patches and workarounds.
State response and next steps for voters
Secretary of State Diego Morales has defended the verification rules as tools to protect election integrity, and his office says it has referred at least one verified noncitizen voting case to law enforcement, according to a state release. His office has also told reporters it is not aware of widespread e-poll book problems since early voting began, according to local coverage. Even so, former and current election officials have called for clearer communication from vendors and more time for voters to respond to notices…