Supreme Court permits New Hampshire student-ID restriction during appeal

Oct 23, 11:34 AM UTC

Lower-court orders paused; underlying legal challenge continues

The U.S. Supreme Court on October 22 paused lower-court orders permitting New Hampshire election officials to consider student IDs as alternative proof of identity. The state may enforce its broader restriction while the appeal proceeds. A law had already removed student IDs from the expressly accepted identification list; this dispute concerned whether officials could consider them alongside other evidence under a fallback procedure. The unsigned order invoked the principle that federal courts generally should avoid changing election rules close to voting. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing that the lower court had corrected guidance without changing state law. This temporary ruling does not resolve the restrictions’ ultimate legality.

CBS/AP: Supreme Court rules New Hampshire can ban student IDs for midterm voters · SCANLAN v. COALITION FOR OPEN DEMOCRACY · Supreme Court says New Hampshire can limit use of student IDs for voting