The Supreme Court let New Hampshire keep student IDs out of its Nov. 3 midterm election, ruling that federal courts should not change voting rules on the eve of an election.
Story Highlights
- The Supreme Court paused a lower-court order that had let election officials weigh student IDs as backup proof of who a voter is.
- The justices cited the Purcell principle, the rule that federal courts should not change election rules right before an election.
- New Hampshire’s House Bill 323, passed in April, took student IDs off the list of IDs that count for getting a ballot.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to dissent. The order does not decide whether the law is constitutional.
- The order said the lower court “did not point to anything that would justify deviating” from the rule against changing election rules close to Election Day.
What The Supreme Court Decided And Why It Matters
On Thursday, October 22, the Supreme Court issued a short, unsigned emergency order in Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy. It paused a ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante, a federal judge in New Hampshire, while the state’s appeal goes forward. The result is that New Hampshire voters cannot use a student ID to register or to get a ballot in the November 3 election, less than two weeks away.
The Court relied on the Purcell principle. It comes from a 2006 case and tells federal judges not to change election rules close to Election Day, because late changes can confuse voters and poll workers. Quoting an earlier decision, the order said lower federal courts “should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” It said the lower court “did not point to anything that would justify deviating” from that rule.
What New Hampshire’s Law Changes At The Polls
Lawmakers passed House Bill 323 in April, Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed it, and it took effect in June. The law took high school and college IDs off the list of IDs that count for getting a ballot. Republican lawmakers argued that school IDs are less secure than IDs issued by the government. Voters can still use a driver’s license from any state, a passport or a military ID.
The fight in court was over a “safety valve.” That is a backup process that lets election officials weigh other proof when a voter has no accepted photo ID. Secretary of State David Scanlan, New Hampshire’s top election official, told local officials in April not to count student IDs even under that backup process. On October 2, Judge Laplante left the law in place but blocked that part of Scanlan’s guidance. The Supreme Court’s order puts Scanlan’s guidance back in force for this election.
What Each Side Says
The Coalition for Open Democracy, a New Hampshire voting rights group, sued over the law. It argues the ban burdens students’ right to vote and targets young voters, who are less likely to have other ID. Opponents also said there is no evidence that school IDs are more likely to be used for fraud. Bryan Sells, a lawyer for the coalition, said the order is “authorizing an unconstitutional policy that will deprive young voters of their right to vote.” He said blocking an order that had been in place for almost three weeks added confusion to the election.
In her dissent, Justice Jackson said the judge “issued a targeted order” that was “reasonably designed to address alleged misinformation, not to change the law.” State officials saw it the other way. Scanlan had told the Court that his office had already put out voting guides, posters, radio ads and public talks since April, and that undoing them weeks before the vote risked confusion.
Why Conservatives See A Win For Election Integrity
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, the state’s top lawyer, called the order “an important victory.” He said the state “has a responsibility to protect the integrity of its elections” and must make sure “election laws are applied as written.” He said the ruling helps “prevent last-minute court orders from creating uncertainty for voters and election officials.”
The law was passed by elected lawmakers and signed by the governor months before the vote, and Formella said trainings on the guidance were held. On Friday, October 23, local election officials said it is rare for a student to show up to register or ask for a ballot with only a student ID, so the change may touch few voters. The larger fight over whether the law is constitutional goes on in the federal appeals court.
Sources:
cbsnews.com, scotusblog.com, us.cnn.com, nhpr.org, courthousenews.com, indepthnh.org, nhpr.org
