The state of New Hampshire wants the U.S. Supreme Court to block lower court rulings permitting limited use of student identification cards by people who are registering to vote or are getting ballots.

In April, NH Secretary of State David Scanlan issued a directive that, based on a new law created by House Bill 323, only government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or a passport is acceptable identification.

But Concord-based U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante’s ruling Oct. 2 in a lawsuit brought by the Coalition for Open Democracy found that Scanlan went too far.

Laplante ruled that student IDs are acceptable under a “safety-valve provision” in state law, saying that if a voter can’t prove their identity by forms of ID listed in statute, an election official could consider other evidence of identity.

A student ID card could provide such evidence, so it’s not proper to broadly prohibit it, the judge said.

“The State has offered no independent justification for that broader prohibition,” Laplante said. “Under the Supreme Court’s standard for evaluating voting regulations, even a minimal burden on the right to vote must be justified by the State’s interests, and the State has identified no interest served by the April Directive beyond those already served by HB 323.”

First the judge and then the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected the state’s request that his ruling be stayed, or paused.

On Thursday, the state filed its request with the U.S. Supreme Court, saying in its filing that “the general election is now less than three weeks away.

“To mitigate the ongoing risk of harm caused by the district court’s order, this Court should issue an immediate administrative stay of that order pending resolution of this application.”

The Coalition for Open Democracy noted in an opposing filing with the Supreme Court on Monday that Scanlan has already issued revised guidance on his website that, based on Laplante’s ruling, election supervisors may consider a student ID along with other evidence.

“The Secretary’s revised guidance is now the status quo,” the filing said. “A stay wouldn’t preserve it. It would reverse the rules for a second time in a month.”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden nominee whose district includes New Hampshire, is now considering this legal matter. She can rule on the state’s request for a stay herself, or she can have it considered by the full court.

In addition to proof of identity, a person wishing to vote in New Hampshire must show they are at least 18 years old, a resident where they are seeking to register, and a U.S. citizen. Those without proof of citizenship can sign an affidavit attesting to their citizenship.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed Republican-backed HB 323 into law on April 3 after the NH Legislature passed it on a partisan basis. The effective date for the law requiring government-issued ID to register and to get a ballot was June 2.

Rick Green can be reached at 603-352-1234, extension 1435, or rgreen@keenesentinel.com.

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