CHICAGO (August 4, 2012)—Young voters got noticed when they helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008, supporting him by a 2-1 margin, but the higher profile has landed them in the middle of the debate over some state laws that regulate voter registration and how people identify themselves at the polls.

Since the last election, several states have tried to limit or ban the use of student IDs as voter identification.

Proponents say the laws are intended to combat voter fraud.

But others see these efforts as attempts to squelch the aspirations of the budding young voting bloc, and are using that claim to try to get more young people fired up.