CHICAGO (AP) -- Gone are the days when young voters weren't taken seriously.

In 2008, they helped elect Barack Obama, supporting him by a 2-1 margin.

But that 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. 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.