SCOTUS OK's NH Ban on Student ID Voting10/23 06:10

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for New 
Hampshire to fully ban the use of student IDs for voting during the midterm 
elections.

   The justices granted a Republican-backed emergency appeal and blocked the 
use of student IDs as a backup method of identification. The Supreme Court 
cited a longstanding legal principle that judges shouldn't change voting rules 
too close to Election Day.

   Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to publicly dissent.

   New Hampshire passed a law this year that said student IDs would no longer 
be an expressly accepted form of identification for obtaining a ballot. The 
secretary of state then issued guidance barring them as a backup way to prove a 
voter's identity.

   A judge left the law in place but blocked the guidance in early October, 
prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court. The Republican National Committee 
weighed in to support the state.

   The decision comes less than two weeks before New Hampshire voters cast 
ballots in a closely contested U.S. Senate race.

   New Hampshire state Rep. Donald McFarlane said he sponsored the bill to 
eliminate student IDs for voting because colleges don't have the same controls 
when issuing those cards as government agencies.

   "Today's Supreme Court decision is a victory for common sense," he said in 
an email. "It allows HB 323 to work as intended: strengthening voter identity 
verification, applying a consistent standard, and maintaining public confidence 
in New Hampshire elections."