A federal judge on Oct. 7 refused to put on hold his order allowing New Hampshire election officials to consider student IDs as evidence of a voter's identity. The state had filed notice Oct. 5 that it is appealing the order to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A student ID still does not by itself prove who a voter is, because a state law that took effect June 2 removed student IDs from the list of photo IDs that are enough on their own. But when a voter has no listed ID, the order lets local election officials consider a student ID along with other evidence in deciding whether the voter is who they claim to be. The Secretary of State's website now says supervisors of the checklist "may consider a student identification card along with other available evidence."
U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante's Oct. 2 opinion and Oct. 5 order left that law, HB 323, in place for the Nov. 3 election. He blocked an April 23 directive from Secretary of State David Scanlan's office only to the extent it bars officials from considering student IDs under the state's catch-all rule, which lets a voter without listed ID prove identity with "any other evidence that reasonably establishes that it is more likely than not that the person is who they claim to be." He ordered Scanlan to issue revised guidance "as soon as practicable."
In refusing the stay, Laplante wrote that the state's own court filings said election officials apply that catch-all standard at the polls, and that his order holds the state "to the interpretation it supplied." The injunction "removes a barrier; it does not impose any new procedure that officials or voters must learn," he wrote.
The state first asked the 1st Circuit for an emergency stay Oct. 6. Laplante's order says the appeals court sent the request back for the district court to decide "in the first instance." On Oct. 7, a three-judge 1st Circuit panel set a schedule in case the state renews its request there: the Coalition for Open Democracy, which brought the suit, would have two calendar days to respond. As of Oct. 8, CourtListener's copy of the appeals docket, last updated Oct. 7, showed no renewed request.
Scanlan said the court's interpretation "creates a significant risk of unequal treatment of voters across the state" because local supervisors would decide case by case whether a student ID, with other evidence, proves identity, The Keene Sentinel reported. He also argued that changing rules a month before the election risks voter confusion, the Sentinel reported.
New Hampshire's deputy secretary of state testified at a Sept. 15 hearing that "I think most, if not all situations, I don't see any factual reason why a student ID could not be reasonable evidence" of a person's identity, according to Laplante's Oct. 2 opinion. The ruling is preliminary, and the coalition's challenge to HB 323 itself is still pending.
Sources: Coalition for Open Democracy v. NH Secretary of State, No. 1:26-cv-00647, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire:
order granting partial preliminary injunctive relief, Oct. 2, 2026
preliminary injunction order, Oct. 5, 2026
order denying stay, Oct. 7, 2026
1st Circuit docket, No. 26-2132, via CourtListener
checked Oct. 8, 2026
New Hampshire Secretary of State election day voting guidance
checked Oct. 8, 2026. Also reported by