US Supreme Court lets New Hampshire ban student IDs at the polls just days before the midterm elections

The justices criticized a lower judge for intervening too close to November's contests and cleared the way for a request backed by the Republican National Committee. That judge had ruled that officials exceeded what a new state law restricting student IDs permitted. He also held that the state was still required to consider student IDs when voters lacked other proof. The ruling is not final and may come back before the courts after the midterms.

The majority's unsigned opinion ran to a single paragraph and cited the Purcell principle on voter confusion.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, saying the injunction 'prevents' confusion rather than causing it.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella hailed 'an important victory' for the state's election safeguards.