The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 26, 2026
Audio posted Sunday 10/25 Noon Eastern
Written & Produced by:
October 23, 2026 12:29 pmCONCORD, NH — In an unsigned order, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned two lower courts which had blocked enforcement of New Hampshire’s new law removing student IDs for voting. The decision cited the Purcell Principle, as changing rules too close to the election.
House Bill 323 removed student photo IDs, used as voter ID since 2012 with few issues, as a form of identification for obtaining a ballot, but not as an alternative form of ID for registering. The federal district court issued a narrow ruling barring the state from enforcing the law, but said the state had not violated the U.S. Constitution in passing it. The 1st Circuit concurred and the state appealed.
Oct. 22, the U.S. Supreme Court, quoted an earlier case using the Purcell principle: “This Court has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election.” UNQUOTE. It ordered a preliminary injunction pending a full appeal in the 1st Circuit.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, pointing out that student IDs were previously allowed, and that the district court’s ruling was designed to prevent confusion, not contribute to it.
Identification for students or any voter is now limited to a driver’s license, passport, non-driver ID, military ID, or state voter ID card.
We have the decision and the dissent at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources
U.S. Supreme Court – SCANLAN v. COALITION FOR OPEN DEMOCRACY
SCOTUSBlog – Supreme Court allows New Hampshire to restrict use of student IDs in voting
New Hampshire Bulletin – Citing security, Republicans push to exclude student ID cards from voting verification
NH Legislature – Text of House Bill 323
Related ADM Reports:
American Democracy Minute – (January) New Hampshire Legislators Make Yet Another Attempt at Keeping Students from Voting, Further Tightening Voter ID Regulations
American Democracy Minute – (October) With Less Than a Month Before the Election, NH Students Still Don’t Know Whether They Can Use Their Student Photo IDs to Register and Vote
Groups Taking Action:
Coalition for Open Democracy, ACLU NH
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky Social, and SHARE!
Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org
Subscribe for FREE at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcasting platforms.
Are you a radio station? Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX
#News #Democracy #DemocracyNews #StudentID #VoterSuppression #NewHampshire #USSupremeCourt #SCOTUS