US Supreme Court blocks student IDs for New Hampshire voting, for now

The court’s order does not resolve the larger legal dispute, and the case will continue.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on lower-court rulings that would have allowed New Hampshire residents to use student IDs to vote or register to vote in next month’s election, according to N.H. Attorney General John Formella.

The dispute centers on guidance issued by N.H. Secretary of State David Scanlan after House Bill 323 took effect. In April, Scanlan said only government-issued identification, including a driver’s license or passport, could be used to register or obtain ballots. A lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Open Democracy challenged that interpretation.

Concord-based U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante ruled on Oct. 2 that the state’s reading was too narrow. He said student identification cards could count under a state-law safety valve that allows election officials to consider other evidence of identity when a voter cannot present the forms listed in statute. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to pause his decision, leaving the state to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

In its filing, the state said the general election is now less than three weeks away and urged the justices to stop the lower-court orders while the request was reviewed. The Supreme Court granted that request Thursday, preventing the use of student IDs under the challenged rulings until the case proceeds further.

Formella said the ruling supports the state’s position that election rules should be enforced as written and that last-minute changes can create confusion for voters and election workers. He also said

The court’s order does not resolve the larger legal dispute, and the case will continue. The general election is Nov. 3. New Hampshire will continue defending its election laws and the safeguards built into them.