Bill to bar student ID cards to prove voter identity heads to Ayotte’s desk

New Hampshire Senate Republicans passed a bill Thursday to bar high school and college students from using their institution’s identification cards to vote, sending the measure to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk.

House Bill 323 would remove a voter’s ability to use a “valid student identification card” to prove their identity to obtain a ballot. Currently, state statute allows a student identification card as one of several options for proving identity, along with a driver’s license from any U.S. state, a state-issued non-driver’s identification card, a U.S. armed services identification card, or a U.S. passport or passport card. 

The bill passed the House, 190-148, with five Democrats joining all Republicans in voting for it. On Thursday, the Senate passed it, 16-8, along party lines. 

The bill is the latest high-profile attempt to tighten requirements for voting in the state, and it presents Ayotte with a major decision. Republicans argue the state’s voting laws have allowed too many opportunities for fraud. HB 323 takes away the chance that a person could use a fake high school or college identification card to vote when they are not eligible, supporters say.

Sen. James Gray, a Rochester Republican, said the bill is intended to limit eligible identification to government-issued photo ID. Gray noted that in the past, the state accepted workplace identification, but said lawmakers had wisely removed that option.

“This update builds greater confidence in the voting process, establishing clear, dependable rules, while still ensuring individuals can vote without difficulty,” he said. 

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But Democrats have slammed the legislation, arguing it is an attempt to suppress the vote of college students who may not have a driver’s license. Those students overwhelmingly support Democrats, voting results in New Hampshire college towns such as Durham and Hanover suggest.

“If the intended goal of this bill is to ensure someone is who they say they are, then we should not be limiting available options,” said Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, the Senate Democratic leader. 

New Hampshire first passed its photo-identification voter requirement in 2012; before that, voters could give their name and address, sign an affidavit, and obtain a ballot without an ID.

Perkins Kwoka argued the bill “aims to solve a problem that does not exist,” noting that successful prosecutions of voter fraud in New Hampshire are rare. And she said that in election years, New Hampshire freshman college students could find it difficult to obtain a New Hampshire identification card in time for the September state primary and November general election. That, she argued, could prevent them from voting. 

“The goal is for them to come and be members of our communities, so that when they receive their degrees, they will choose to stay and contribute to our economy,” Perkins Kwoka said. “If we make it harder and harder for young people to vote, it will help deter … from having young people choose our state.” 

But Sen. Dan Innis, a Bradford Republican and a professor of hospitality management and marketing at the University of New Hampshire, countered that university-issued identification cards do not contain information such as age and domicile, in contrast to a government-issued ID. That lack of information makes it a less reliable proof of identity, Innis argued. 

“I could have this ID long after I’ve left the university, as could many students,” he said.