Supreme Court Lets New Hampshire Bar Student IDs for Voting

Key takeaways

• The US Supreme Court on Oct. 22, 2026 granted New Hampshire's emergency application (No. 26A512) and paused a federal judge's order that had let election officials consider student IDs as evidence of a voter's identity.
• For the Nov. 3 midterm election, the Secretary of State's April directive applies: student IDs cannot be used to register or to obtain a ballot, even as backup evidence.
• The unsigned order relied on the Purcell principle, which discourages federal courts from changing election rules close to an election. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
• The ruling does not decide the merits. The stay lasts while the state's appeal is pending in the First Circuit and through any Supreme Court review.

What the Supreme Court student ID order does in New Hampshire

The Supreme Court has let New Hampshire fully bar student IDs as voter identification for the Nov. 3 midterm elections. In a short, unsigned order issued late on Oct. 22, the justices granted a stay requested by state officials in Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy. Election-law fights are also playing out in Alaska, where the Justice Department sued to block Senate certification if Dan Sullivan loses.

The docket shows the stay covers two orders granting preliminary relief, dated Oct. 2 and Oct. 5, from the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire. They are paused until the First Circuit decides the appeal and, if the state asks, until the Supreme Court acts on a petition for review. Justice Jackson, who handles emergency matters from the First Circuit, first received the application and referred it to the full Court. The docket notes her dissent and records no other votes.

According to SCOTUSblog and CBS News, the majority quoted a 2020 ruling: "lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election." The justices said the district court did not point to anything that would justify departing from that principle.

How the case got here

The dispute is narrower than the headline suggests. It is not about whether New Hampshire's new voter ID law stands. It is about how far the state's guidance went in applying that law.

HB 323 and the April directive

House Bill 323 removed student identification cards from the list of IDs that expressly qualify a voter to receive a ballot. Ballotpedia reports that the House passed it 190-148 on Jan. 7 and the Senate 16-8 on March 5, both largely on party lines. Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed it on April 3, and the requirement took effect on June 2, according to NHPR and the Valley News.

State law also includes a "safety-valve" provision. If a voter cannot prove identity with a listed ID, an election official may consider other evidence of identity. In April, Scanlan issued a directive saying only government-issued IDs, such as a driver's license or passport, were acceptable. That directive also told officials not to consider student IDs under the safety valve.

Judge Laplante's Oct. 2 ruling

The Coalition for Open Democracy, a nonprofit that helps high schools run voter registration drives, sued in August. On Oct. 2, US District Judge Joseph Laplante declined to block HB 323 itself. He did block the April directive to the extent it stopped officials from treating a student ID as evidence of identity under the safety valve. "The State has offered no independent justification for that broader prohibition," Laplante wrote, as quoted by NHPR.

The First Circuit and the emergency application

Laplante and then the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston refused to pause the ruling. Democracy Docket reported the appeals court order on Oct. 15. The state filed its Supreme Court application the same day. The Republican National Committee filed a brief in support on Oct. 16, and the coalition answered on Oct. 19, according to the docket.

What student voters must now bring to the polls

For this election, a student ID will not be accepted to register or to get a ballot, either alone or as backup evidence under the safety valve, according to InDepthNH and CBS News. Under the secretary's guidance, voters should bring a government-issued photo ID. The examples named in state guidance and the bill text include a driver's license (including one issued by another state), a passport, an armed services ID, and a state-issued non-driver ID card.

Students who plan to register on Election Day should also check registration rules. WCAX reports that same-day registration remains available at the polls and that proof of citizenship, or an affidavit attesting to it, is now required. Affidavit rules are the subject of separate litigation over a 2024 law. A federal judge ruled in May that parts of that law were unconstitutional, the Concord Monitor reported. Because procedures have shifted more than once this year, voters can confirm what to bring with their town or city clerk or the Secretary of State's office before Nov. 3.

How each side frames the ruling

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, a Republican, welcomed the order. "New Hampshire has a responsibility to protect the integrity of its elections," he said, according to CBS News. He called it a win for efforts to prevent "last-minute court orders from creating uncertainty for voters and election officials."

In its filings, the state said Laplante's order would force it to undo steps taken since April, including student voting guides and updated polling place posters. It argued that Purcell concerns were "at their apex," SCOTUSblog reported.

The coalition argued the reverse. In its response, it said Laplante had not blocked any state law. It said the secretary had already revised his website to say supervisors may consider a student ID alongside other evidence. "The Secretary's revised guidance is now the status quo," the group wrote, as quoted by SCOTUSblog and the Valley News. After the ruling, the coalition's counsel called the order "wrong," InDepthNH reported. They said it authorizes a policy that will deprive young voters of their right to vote.

HB 323's sponsor, Republican state Rep. Donald MacFarlane, called the decision "a victory for common sense," according to InDepthNH.

In dissent, Justice Jackson wrote that Laplante had issued "a targeted order" aimed at alleged misinformation, not at changing the law, SCOTUSblog reported. She argued that an order that left the state's election rule untouched does not clearly fall within Purcell's concern about late rule changes.

What it means

For student voters, the practical effect is simple: a college or school ID will not be enough at a New Hampshire polling place on Nov. 3. The order arrives less than two weeks before an election that includes a closely contested US Senate race, CBS News noted. Election officials now have to apply the stricter guidance again after weeks under the looser version.

For the law, nothing is settled yet. The constitutional challenge to HB 323 and to the directive continues in the lower courts. The First Circuit appeal will decide whether Laplante's preliminary relief returns for later elections. The order also shows how readily the current Court applies Purcell in the final weeks before an election, even when, as the dissent argued, a lower court did not strike down a state statute. What remains unknown is how many voters will be affected. None of the sources reviewed gave figures on how many people have used student IDs to vote in New Hampshire.

For more on the run-up to the vote, see our coverage of the US-Canada dispute over midterm interference claims, how gas prices are weighing on households before the midterms, the Ohio governor's race, and Iran policy in the campaign.

Sources

• Supreme Court of the United States: Docket No. 26A512, Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy
• SCOTUSblog: Supreme Court allows New Hampshire to restrict use of student IDs in voting
• CBS News (AP): Supreme Court rules New Hampshire can ban use of student IDs for midterm voters
• InDepthNH: US Supreme Court reinstates NH's law against using student IDs
• NHPR: Judge says NH secretary of state went too far on student IDs for voting
• Valley News: New Hampshire asks Supreme Court to block student ID rulings
• Democracy Docket: Federal appeals court won't fully block student IDs for voting in New Hampshire
• Democracy Docket: Supreme Court lets New Hampshire fully ban student IDs for voting ahead of midterms
• Ballotpedia News: New Hampshire legislators remove student IDs for voting
• WCAX: New Hampshire seeks emergency stay in student ID voting dispute
• Concord Monitor: Federal judge strikes down NH voter ID law repeal of affidavits