Supreme Court Upholds New Hampshire Ban on Student IDs for Midterm Voting
The Supreme Court blocks student IDs for voting in New Hampshire's midterm elections, citing rules against last-minute changes to election procedures.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Thursday that effectively prohibits the use of student identification cards for voting purposes in New Hampshire during the upcoming midterm elections.
In a decision favoring a Republican-led emergency appeal, the justices blocked the use of student IDs as a secondary form of identification. The Court justified the move by pointing to a long-standing legal precedent that discourages judicial intervention in election regulations shortly before voters head to the polls.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole member of the Court to register a public dissent against the order. The ruling arrives less than two weeks before a highly competitive U.S. Senate contest in the state.
The controversy stems from a state law enacted earlier this year that removed student IDs from the list of approved documents for ballot access. While a lower court judge had previously allowed the law to stand, they had blocked the secretary of state’s guidance that prohibited the use of such IDs as a backup verification method. The Republican National Committee supported the state’s efforts to enforce the ban.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
