New Hampshire Sued over Voter ID Restrictions for Students
The coalition says the change will burden young voters, as 28% fewer teens now get driver’s licenses and many lack other IDs.
- On Tuesday, Open Democracy filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire seeking to block enforcement of HB 323, which eliminates the use of school-issued identification cards for voting.
- Republican lawmakers passed HB 323 earlier this year, arguing that college identification cards lack the security of government-issued identification; Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the bill into law in April.
- The lawsuit alleges the requirement "unconstitutionally burdens the right to vote, discriminates against young voters on account of their age, and unlawfully rewrites New Hampshire's election statutes." Plaintiffs note a 28% decline in teenagers obtaining driver's licenses.
- New Hampshire House Election Law Committee Chair Ross Berry defended the law on Wednesday, saying "College students are not a special class of voters." The coalition also challenges Secretary David Scanlan's directive prohibiting Student IDs for voter registration.
- It remains unclear whether the case will reach a judge before the state primary on September 8, as plaintiffs frame HB 323 as part of a "long-running history" of voting barriers in the Granite State.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Activist group sues New Hampshire to block ban on use of student IDs to obtain ballot
On Tuesday, the Coalition for Open Democracy - a nonpartisan activist group focused on political equality based in Concord, N.H. - filed a lawsuit challenging N.H. H.B. 323. The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Kelly Ayotte on April 3 and went into effect on June 2, eliminated the option to use student ID cards as proof of identity when obtaining a ballot on election day.The lawsuit claims that H.B. 323 "unconstitutionally burden[s] the f…
Lawsuit Challenges NH Student ID Voter Restriction
By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org CONCORD — From court challenges on student IDs to new requirements for absentee ballots, voting in 2026 will bring a number of changes for Granite-staters for students and residents who have moved in-state or between states. “The laws have changed a lot, so if you voted in 2025 or 2024, this year will be different,” said Olivia Zink, executive director of the Concord-based nonprofit voting rights group the Coalition …
InsideNoVA.com
New Hampshire sued over voter ID restrictions for students
(The Center Square) — New Hampshire is being sued in federal court over a new law that prohibits the use of student IDs to vote in federal, state and local elections.
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