Supreme Court Lets New Hampshire Block Student IDs as Backup Voter ID

New Hampshire voters heading to the polls in the midterms cannot use a student ID as a backup way to prove identity at the ballot box. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared that restriction on Thursday, Oct. 22, letting a state law take effect for this election cycle.

The court granted an emergency appeal filed by Republicans and declined to disturb New Hampshire's rules for identifying voters. In its order, the court pointed to the long-standing practice of judges avoiding changes to election rules in the run-up to voting. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote the only public dissent, the Associated Press reported.

New Hampshire lawmakers approved a measure earlier this year, HB 323, that took student identification cards off the list of forms of identification a voter may present to get a ballot. The state secretary of state then issued guidance that also barred students from presenting those cards as a backup method of verifying identity. A judge kept the law in effect but blocked the secretary of state's guidance in early October. New Hampshire appealed that decision, and the Republican National Committee backed the state's position.

The order lands less than two weeks before New Hampshire voters cast ballots in a closely contested U.S. Senate race. State Rep. Donald McFarlane, the Republican who sponsored the legislation, said colleges do not apply the same safeguards as government agencies when they issue identification cards. In an email, McFarlane called the decision a "victory for common sense." He added: "It allows HB 323 to work as intended: strengthening voter identity verification, applying a consistent standard, and maintaining public confidence in New Hampshire elections."

Student identification cards cannot serve as a backup form of identification at New Hampshire polls during this election.