CONCORD, N.H. (MyKeeneNow.com) New Hampshire voters will not be able to use student identification cards to register to vote or obtain a ballot in the Nov. 3 general election following a U.S. Supreme Court order suspending a lower court ruling in a dispute over the state’s voter identification requirements.

The Supreme Court issued the order Oct. 22, temporarily restoring the state’s restrictions while its appeal moves forward. The decision does not settle the underlying lawsuit challenging the law.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced the decision Thursday night, saying the ruling supports the state’s efforts to enforce its election laws as written.

“New Hampshire has a responsibility to protect the integrity of its elections and ensure that election laws are applied as written,” Formella said in a statement. He described the order as a victory in preventing late-stage court decisions from creating uncertainty for voters and election officials.

The case, Scanlan v. Coalition for Open Democracy, centers on voter identification requirements established under House Bill 323 and guidance issued by Secretary of State David Scanlan.

After the legislation took effect, Scanlan issued guidance in April stating that voters could not use student IDs to register or obtain ballots. The guidance identified government-issued identification, including driver’s licenses and passports, as acceptable forms of identification.

The Coalition for Open Democracy challenged the state’s interpretation in federal court. On Oct. 2, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante ruled that Scanlan’s guidance was too restrictive, issuing a preliminary injunction that allowed student IDs to be considered as evidence of identity under certain circumstances.

Laplante pointed to a provision in state law that allows election officials to consider alternative evidence when a voter cannot establish their identity using the forms of identification specifically listed in the statute. He determined that student identification cards could qualify under that provision and should not be categorically excluded.

The state subsequently sought to pause the ruling, but both Laplante and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston declined to grant that request.

With the general election approaching, the state asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that changes to election procedures so close to Election Day could create confusion for voters and election officials.

In its order, the Supreme Court emphasized that federal courts generally should not change election rules shortly before an election. The court concluded that the district court had not established a sufficient reason to depart from that principle.

The stay reinstates the state’s restrictions while the appeal proceeds. The New Hampshire Department of Justice said it will continue defending the law, and the secretary of state and the department plan to provide further guidance to election officials.

The Nov. 3 general election will take place as the broader legal dispute continues. The Supreme Court’s order addresses the lower court’s injunction, not the ultimate question of how New Hampshire’s voter identification law should be interpreted.