The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed New Hampshire to bar student identification cards as voter ID in the upcoming midterm elections, granting a Republican National Committee-backed appeal.
The court’s brief unsigned order relied on the principle that lower federal courts generally should not change election rules close to an election. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to publicly dissent, arguing that an approaching election should not prevent the law from being properly applied.
Voting-rights advocates said the directive could prevent young and low-income voters from casting ballots, according to the Guardian. Republicans said the restriction is needed to address voter fraud. The decision leaves the student-ID prohibition in effect for the midterm elections.