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US supreme court sides with Republicans on rejecting student IDs in New Hampshire midterms
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- The US Supreme Court allowed New Hampshire to prohibit student IDs as valid voter identification ahead of the November midterm elections, siding with an RNC-backed appeal to avoid changing election rules close to voting day.
- New Hampshire's Republican governor signed a law removing student IDs from acceptable voter ID forms, prompting legal challenges from voting rights advocates who argued this could disenfranchise young voters without other IDs.
- The case reflects a broader national debate, with Republicans citing voter ID laws as necessary to prevent fraud despite little evidence of widespread voter fraud, while advocates warn such laws disproportionately affect low-income, rural, and marginalized voters.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, supporting the lower court's decision to block the directive on the grounds that it could mislead voters and election workers, highlighting a divide within the Supreme Court on this issue.
