RNC defends New Hampshire's student-ID restriction
Republican National CommitteeRepublican National Committee, through chairman Joe Gruters
Through Joe Gruters, the RNC calls the challenge a power grab and supports keeping New Hampshire's student-ID restriction in place.
“We’re standing in the way of this blatant power grab and keeping elections in the Granite State secure ... Democrats and their allies waited until the eleventh hour to launch an all-out attack on voter ID.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
New Hampshire asks the Supreme Court to pause the student-ID ruling; challengers oppose the exclusion
New Hampshire asks the Supreme Court to pause an injunction allowing election officials to consider student IDs with other evidence of identity. The Coalition for Open Democracy, which brought the lawsuit, and its lawyers defend the injunction and continue challenging HB 323, the separate law removing student IDs from the list of accepted IDs.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
NHJournal quotes the RNC chairman supporting the state and criticizing the lawsuit's timing. It does not provide evidence of fraud by student-ID users.
Before the quotation
On October 2 the district court blocked Scanlan's directive excluding student IDs from other identity-verification procedures, while leaving HB 323 in place. The state then sought a stay from the First Circuit.
After the quotation
NHJournal reports that the RNC filed an amicus brief supporting New Hampshire's position in the lawsuit.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the state's categorical exclusion of student IDs from consideration under existing identity-verification safeguards, the rule in the April 23 directive that the district court blocked on October 2. Through chairman Joe Gruters, the RNC says it is "standing in the way of this blatant power grab and keeping elections in the Granite State secure", backing the state after the October 2 ruling blocked the directive. We labeled it Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Challenged the characterization, since Gruters also calls the lawsuit an "all-out attack on voter ID"; it loses because the RNC supports keeping the state's rules in place rather than only disputing how the lawsuit is described.
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More from this case
Read the full caseTentarelli supports considering student IDs with other evidence
“We at the League of Women Voters New Hampshire think this is a good ruling that student IDs should be considered in spite of the law passed last spring. ... It’s upsetting that this bill passed last spring ... But when it got extended by the Secretary of State to include voter registration, that was an assumption that was not spelled out in the bill”Read statement
Garrity defends the emergency stay request on student IDs
“The State has asked the United States Supreme Court for an emergency stay in this matter. New Hampshire has a strong interest in ensuring that its election laws are applied consistently and that local election officials have clear, workable guidance in administering elections”Read statement
Scanlan and Formella ask the Supreme Court to pause the student-ID injunction
“the district court premised relief on an incorrect interpretation of New Hampshire law. But even if the merits were “not entirely clearcut,” the Purcell principle overwhelmingly supports a stay of the district court’s order. ... This Court should stay the district court’s orders pending proceedings in the court of appeals and in this Court.”Read statement
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- RNC defends New Hampshire's student-ID restriction
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The Dispute Index. "RNC defends New Hampshire's student-ID restriction". First published: 2026-10-18. Last updated: 2026-10-18. https://disputeindex.com/events/5938-through-joe-gruters-the-rnc-calls-the-challenge