Indiana election officials canceled voter registrations of 981 Hoosiers, including naturalized citizens, under HEA 1264

Indiana election officials canceled the voter registrations of at least 981 U.S. citizens and rejected 644 prospective voters under House Enrolled Act 1264 and House Enrolled Act 1680, two state laws that took effect July 1, 2025. The laws required county election officials to cross-reference voter rolls against a Bureau of Motor Vehicles list of individuals who had ever received a temporary driver's license or identification card — a category that includes people who were non-citizens at the time of issuance but have since naturalized. Flagged voters were sent notices requiring proof of citizenship documentation within 30 days, after which their registrations were canceled or applications rejected. Of the 2,602 people for whom the process had been completed by the time of analysis, approximately 62% were removed or denied.

The data was compiled by Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political science professor, and submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana as part of a May 8, 2026 preliminary injunction motion in League of Women Voters of Indiana v. Morales. The plaintiffs — the League of Women Voters of Indiana, Common Cause Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, and Exodus Refugee Immigration — argued the laws unconstitutionally burden naturalized citizens. Named defendants include Secretary of State Diego Morales, the state's elections chief who has publicly championed the law, and Indiana Election Division Co-Directors Bradley King and Angela Nussmeyer. As of June 9, 2026, the state had not yet filed a response to the preliminary injunction motion and the court had not ruled.

The system's core flaw is structural: the BMV transmits an updated list of temporary-credential holders to the Indiana Election Division nightly, but the list is additive only — names are never removed, even after a person naturalizes and receives an unrestricted credential. Charrie Stambaugh, a U.S. citizen for nearly 30 years, discovered her registration had been canceled after visiting the BMV in October 2025 to upgrade to a Real ID. A database outage during her visit caused her record to receive a temporary-status flag; the BMV corrected the error two days later, but the flag persisted in the Election Division's system and triggered cancellation of her voter registration. Stambaugh learned of the cancellation only by chance, when she saw a Facebook post encouraging people to check their status, and told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that voters who do not proactively check are likely unaware they have been disenfranchised.