New Hampshire asks Supreme Court to restore ban on student IDs for voting

New Hampshire’s government has submitted an emergency request to the Supreme Court seeking to lift a recent district court order that stopped the enforcement of a state law banning student identification cards as valid voter ID. The law, passed in April, was used for the September primary but was blocked before the general election, prompting the state to argue that the injunction breaches the Purcell principle, which limits last-minute changes to election procedures.

Solicitor General Anthony Galdieri contended that the district court’s ruling forces election officials to undo extensive preparations on the eve of the vote. The Supreme Court has arranged an accelerated briefing schedule, with the state’s reply brief filed on Tuesday and a possible decision as early as the following Tuesday. The petition comes as the Coalition for Open Democracy, the organization that challenged the law, urges the Court to maintain the lower court’s order, noting that in-person voting has not yet begun. The dispute arrives amid competitive gubernatorial, Senate, congressional and legislative races slated for November.