Supreme Court allows New Hampshire to ban student IDs for voting

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 02:44 · Archive

The US Supreme Court has allowed New Hampshire to ban the use of student IDs for voting in next month's midterm election.

The US Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal by New Hampshire on Thursday, allowing the state to fully ban student IDs as a method of voting identification in the midterm elections scheduled for early November. The Republican National Committee backed the state's appeal.

The Supreme Court invoked what is known as the 'Purcell principle', a longstanding precedent that lower federal courts should not alter election rules close to an election day. The unsigned order stated the District Court 'did not point to anything that would justify deviating' from this principle.

The dispute stemmed from a state law passed in spring that removed student IDs from accepted forms of identification. A federal judge initially declined to block the law but reconsidered in early October, preventing the state's secretary of state from barring student IDs as a backup form of identification. This prompted the Supreme Court appeal.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenter, arguing the lower court's order should not be disturbed and that the Purcell principle did not necessarily apply in this case. The ruling means voters cannot use student IDs, though other unofficial forms of identification remain acceptable under separate state law provisions.

How it is being reported

• U.S. Supreme Court says New Hampshire can limit student IDs for votingThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday student IDs in New Hampshire cannot be used for next month's midterm election.UPI · 23 Oct, 02:24
• Supreme Court rules New Hampshire can ban use of student IDs for votersThe Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for New Hampshire to fully ban the use of student IDs for voting during the midterm elections.CBS News · 23 Oct, 00:53

In this story: New Hampshire · Republican National Committee · Ketanji Brown Jackson · David Scanlan · Joseph Laplante · Coalition for Open Democracy · US Supreme Court

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