A Concord-based voting rights group is asking a federal judge to immediately reinstate the use of school-issued IDs for registering to vote and obtaining a ballot in New Hampshire. The lawsuit, filed by the Coalition for Open Democracy, claims the policy unfairly targets young voters who are less likely to have other forms of identification.
“For years, thousands of students in New Hampshire used their readily accessible student IDs when registering to vote and to obtain a ballot and vote on election day,” the coalition argues in its lawsuit. “There is no evidence they were used to commit voter fraud or were unreliable.”
Republican lawmakers passed House Bill 323 earlier this year ending the use of identification cards issued by New Hampshire high schools and colleges, arguing that the IDs were not as secure as those issued by government agencies. Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the bill into law; it went into effect in June.
The coalition also alleges that New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan overstepped his authority when he issued a directive prohibiting the use of school-issued IDs for registering to vote, even though that language wasn’t included in the legislation.
“It is clear that HB 323 is part of a long-running history of New Hampshire politicians making it harder for young people to vote,” the plaintiffs in the case said in a statement.
When New Hampshire initially implemented its voter identification law in 2012, the state said acceptable forms of photo IDs included: driver’s licenses issued by New Hampshire or any other state, an armed services ID card, or a passport. Accredited high school and college IDs were also accepted, as long as they included a photograph and expiration date.
The lawsuit alleges that the state’s move to end the use of IDs for both requesting a ballot at the polls, and registering to vote, unconstitutionally burdens young voters. The lawsuit notes a 28% decline in the number of teenagers who get a driver’s license, and the cost of obtaining a passport. While the Department of Motor Vehicles issues non-driver identification cards, the coalition alleges requiring would-be voters to travel to a government office poses an unnecessary hurdle.
Republicans argued during the legislative session that school-issued IDs lacked safeguards and that repealing them would create more uniformity across polling sites. New Hampshire House Election Law Committee Chair Ross Berry said the lawsuit undermines the state’s efforts to have “equality under the law.”
“College students are not a special class of voters,” Berry said on Wednesday. “Our common-sense law holds everyone to the same standard, without exemptions for favored groups.”
While the lawsuit is asking for the immediate reinstatement of school IDs, it isn’t clear if the case will appear before a judge in advance of the upcoming state primary on September 8.
The Coalition for Open Democracy previously helped overturn another Republican-backed voting law requiring all first-time voters in New Hampshire to bring a passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers to the polls, in order to confirm their U.S. citizenship.
Earlier this summer, a federal judge ruled that policy would likely disenfranchise otherwise eligible voters who lacked ready access to those documents. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is appealing that ruling.
