NEW HAMPSHIRE — The New Hampshire Secretary of State has updated official election-day guidance following an October 2 federal court order addressing how poll workers may consider student identification cards in the November 3, 2026, general election.
What the court decided
U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante granted limited preliminary relief in Coalition for Open Democracy v. Scanlan. The judge did not invalidate New Hampshire’s revised voter-ID law at this stage. Instead, the order prevents the state from enforcing an administrative directive that barred or discouraged election officials from considering student IDs as evidence when verifying a voter’s identity through alternative procedures.
The ruling required the state to revise its guidance. Student IDs are not listed among the forms of photo identification automatically accepted under the revised statute. However, election officials may consider a student ID together with other evidence when supervisors of the checklist review a person’s identity under the applicable law.
What registered voters should bring
According to the Secretary of State’s current election-day instructions, expressly accepted forms of identification include qualifying driver’s licenses, non-driver identification cards, U.S. military IDs and U.S. passports or passport cards, subject to the published rules.
Registered voters who do not have one of those documents may be directed to supervisors of the checklist for an identity-verification review. Officials may use personal knowledge and other permitted evidence. The existence of that procedure does not mean every student ID alone guarantees a ballot.
Registration is a separate question
New Hampshire offers election-day registration, but a person registering at the polls must establish eligibility, including identity, age, citizenship and domicile, under rules distinct from identity checks for voters already registered. Residents should review the state’s election-day registration instructions rather than assume the student-ID court order waives other requirements.
What the ruling does not say
The decision is preliminary. It does not establish that the new voter-identification statute is unconstitutional, and it does not make student IDs a universally accepted standalone form of identification. It addresses how local officials must be allowed to evaluate evidence in specific verification procedures.
Voter information: Check the current guidance from the Secretary of State and contact your city or town election office about questions before Election Day, November 3.
Primary sources: New Hampshire Secretary of State, updated Election Day Voting guidance; U.S. District Court October 2, 2026, order (Document 63). Additional reporting: New Hampshire Public Radio.
