Supreme Court Protects Students From Last-Minute Election Confusion By Giving Them More Homework

A college student’s face is a reasonably stable object. Its usefulness to the state is more of an ongoing legal seminar.

On October 22, the Supreme Court allowed New Hampshire to exclude student IDs even as backup voting identification. AP reports that the Court invoked the principle against judges changing election rules close to Election Day. A lower judge had left the state’s student-ID law intact but blocked broader guidance against backup use; the justices put that guidance back into effect.

Stability has therefore been restored. Students need only update their understanding of what is stable.

Imagine preparing for an exam in which the professor insists that no material may change during the final two weeks, then hands out a revised answer key explaining which earlier answer key should never have been distributed. This is perfectly coherent if you are the professor. If you are the student, you have additional reading.

The card itself must be baffled. It has the same photograph, the same name and the same general commitment to being a rectangle. None of that settles the legal question, obviously. A rectangle should have thought of that before seeking a role in public life.

Other accepted identification remains available to student voters; this ruling does not ban students from voting. The policy’s supporters argue that government-issued IDs involve stronger issuance controls. The practical task is to have acceptable identification, not to arrive at a polling place armed with this column and a promising theory about rectangles.

But admire the allocation of administrative convenience. The institutions can spend weeks moving a rule between legal categories. The citizen’s contribution is to keep up, preferably while attending class.

Perhaps colleges should offer a course in Election Stability. The syllabus would be final. The professor would reserve the right to restore a different final syllabus.

Students would be responsible for all material, including notices explaining why they should not have relied on the material.