How Voter ID Laws Impact Trans People--And Potentially Anyone!

 

I gave a briefing today to the Congressional Progressive Caucus on barriers to voting for LGBTQIA+ Americans. And I want to share these two maps.

The map in shades of red and pink shows voter ID laws. The states in the darkest two colors require photo ID.

The map in blue and tan shows states in which it is impossible (darkest blue) or extremely difficult (medium blue) for someone to change the gender marker on a driver's license or voting ID.

Note the very close relationship between the states that require photo ID to vote and those in which most or all trans residents will have a photo ID with a gender marker that doesn't match their lived gender. This puts them at risk of being harassed when they go to vote, and accused of voter fraud. Trans people therefore experience disfranchisement and the risk of prosecution when trying to vote in these states.

But it's not just trans people at risk. Cis lesbians and gay men who are gendertransgressive have long faced harassment, but can now be accused of being trans and of having a fraudulent ID. And cis straight people are at risk as well! If you've ever run into the "transvestigator community" online, you'll have seen that people who are deeply invested in gender policing seem to believe half of the population is secretly trans. Pope Leo is supposedly trans because he has a narrow jaw, revealing a "female skull!" Michele Obama is supposedly trans because she has "male shoulders!"

Many cis people may think that the laws and procedures that make it unsafe for trans people to show up at polling places will only impact a small number of people. Democratic politicians may not be talking about the disfranchisement of trans people because they think the number of transphobes is greater than the number of trans allies, so it's politically unwise to spend political capital on a small number of trans voters.

But this is wrong on two levels. One, on the level of civics and ethics: every American deserves their right to vote! But secondly, on the pragmatic level. The point of voter ID laws is intimidation and disfranchisement. To make every person of color with a non-Anglo last name fear they'll be accused of being "an illegal" at the polls, for example. And to put anyone who is not a walking gender stereotype at risk of being accused of having a fraudulent ID with the "wrong" gender marker on it--if the poll worker or some poll observer wants to harass them and deter or prevent them from voting.

This is an issue I think should be on everyone's radars.