WASHINGTON — New Hampshire can turn away student IDs as proof of identity at the polls in next month’s midterm election after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a lower-court order in the state’s voting dispute.
In a short unsigned order, the justices put on hold a ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante while the state appeals. The court leaned on a long-standing principle that federal judges generally should not change election rules right before people vote.
The fight centers on House Bill 323, which Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed in April. It dropped student ID cards from the list of identification that is expressly valid for getting a ballot, and it took effect June 2. Secretary of State David Scanlan then sent guidance to local election officials and held trainings on the change.
Laplante left the law itself in place. But he ruled that the state had stretched it too far and blocked a directive that discouraged poll workers from weighing a student ID under a separate backup process for voters who lack an approved photo ID. A federal appeals court refused to pause his order before the state went to the Supreme Court.
The challenge came from the Coalition for Open Democracy, a group whose work includes helping high schools run voter registration drives. It argues the law burdens the right to vote and targets young voters. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, writing that the judge had simply ordered the state to stop giving the public misleading information about its rules. State Attorney General John Formella said New Hampshire must apply its election laws as written.
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