According to a report issued by the Williams Institute, up to 25,000 trans voters may be denied their constitutional right to vote as a citizen of the United States due to the new wave of voter ID laws in 33 states that require people to possess “proper identification.”
These laws impact those trans people whose current gender identity does not match the male/female designation listed on their birth certificate because they live in a state that will not allow them to legally change their gender on their birth certificate. This is a particularly troublesome problem for those who self-identify as genderqueer or gender nonconforming as there is seldom a place for them to check off “other” as their gender. Therefore, a number of trans people chose not to get an government issued IDs or have an ID that does not match with how they present themselves today.
Furthermore, as reported by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), a tea party group with the ironic title “True the Vote” is training their volunteer poll watchers to target trans voters. For instance, in this PDF of their guide aimed at volunteers based in Virginia, they placed the phrase “Prevent Voter Fraud!” over the picture of a man wearing a dress.
For additional resources check out the respective websites for the NCTE and the
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) who are partnering together on this issue.
