NHPR Midday Newscast for Thursday, August 13, 2026

From NHPR News, I'm Joe Bainline. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has requested an audit of the state's college system as university officials seek to consolidate leadership. The university system of New Hampshire already undergoes annual financial audits. Lawmakers want a performance audit to better understand the proposed merger and the system's staffing. The merger would combine the chancellor of the entire system and the University of New Hampshire president into one position. USNH includes the University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, and Keene State College. A voting rights group is suing the state over the use of school-issued photo IDs for voting. As NHPR's Todd Bookman reports, a new law removed those IDs. Since New Hampshire implemented voter ID rules in 2012, students have had the option of using high school or college IDs to register or receive a ballot, as long as they included a photo and expiration date. Earlier this year, Governor Kelly Ayat signed off on a bill removing school IDs from the approved list after Republicans in the State House argued they weren't as secure as government IDs and that students are not a special class of voter. The Coalition for Open Democracy is now suing to reinstate student IDs. It argues the law violates the Constitution by unfairly targeting young voters and that it was enacted despite any proof of voter fraud. This is the same group that successfully challenged a different bill that sought to mandate all first-time voters bring a passport or birth certificate when they register. It's not clear if a federal judge may act on the request in time for the September primary or November general election. Todd Bookman, NHPR News. There are showers right now around the mountains and up in the north country. We'll see mostly cloudy skies today. Sh showers likely this afternoon. Chance for thunderstorms up north, but in the southern portions of the state, we'll see partly sunny skies with just a chance of a shower. Highs in the lower 70s to lower 80s. Partly cloudy tonight, chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly clear after midnight, though, to the south, flows in the upper 40s to lower 60s. 72 in Berlin. 74 in Hanover and 76 in Dover. This is NHPR.