With anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation sharply on the rise, it’s no surprise that barriers to voting have also increased for transgender people. Restrictive Voter ID laws increase barriers to voting for many people. Their impact on members of the transgender community is often exacerbated, as it's not uncommon for a transgender person’s identification documents (“ID”) to not accurately reflect their gender. 

In fact, some states require transgender people to undergo arduous processes, such as extensive surgical procedures, before updating their gender marker. Recently, the Trump administration heightened this challenge by issuing an executive order demanding that the federal government only recognize two sexes, male and female, which led the State Department to suspend its policy of recognizing transgender, intersex, and nonbinary identities on passports. 

This can cause issues when registering to vote or casting a ballot, particularly in person, as transgender voters have been accused of fraud when attempting to vote with a mismatched name or gender marker on their ID. 

Transgender voters already face barriers to participating in civic life. More than 30% of trans people report facing harassment due to their presenting gender not matching their ID, including at the polls. Voting must not be associated with fear, humiliation, and bigotry.

The League of Women Voters is dedicated to ensuring that all voters can cast a ballot in any given election. With this in mind, the League opposes strict voter ID laws, as they often unfairly burden certain groups of voters while being totally unnecessary to prevent voter fraud. We value our trans and nonbinary League members and stand with the trans community

Strict Gender Marker Laws 

The obvious solution to a mismatching gender marker would be for a transgender person to update their ID — when possible (as is stated above, this currently isn't possible on passports). In some states, that can be a particularly difficult task. 

As of this blog’s writing, ten states have difficult requirements for a transgender person to update their gender marker. These states are Montana, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Requirements can include gender reassignment surgery, a highly invasive procedure that not all transgender people want to undergo. 

Even for people who do want to undergo surgery, such procedures still cost thousands of dollars. For low-income transgender people, obtaining such a surgery is likely impossible. While some insurance plans cover transgender health care, many do not, including ACA Marketplace coverage in some states.  

Other states require an update to one’s birth certificate (which also often requires gender reassignment surgery, if it’s even allowed) or a court order to change one’s gender marker. In four states — Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Kansas — updating one’s gender marker to reflect their gender accurately is simply forbidden. As a result, in fourteen states, there are severe or impassable barriers to updating one’s gender marker. 

The Challenge of Voter ID Laws 

The gender marker issue is, of course, mostly an issue that appears in states that require voter ID. Thirty-eight states require some form of ID to vote. Of these states, several strictly require photo IDs, which pose an additional challenge. Individuals who have undergone hormone treatment may look extremely different from the photos on their current ID. This could result in, at best, awkwardness, and at worst, accusations of fraud when they present their IDs at the polls.   

Unfortunately, many of the states that have severe obstacles to updating one’s gender marker also require the presentation of a photo ID to vote. The graphic below displays this intersection.  

The data used to create the map can be found here: Voter ID and Changing Gender Marker Laws.

The SAVE Act 

The SAVE Act, currently pending before the United States House of Representatives, would exacerbate the voter ID issue. It would require all voters to show an ID to register to vote, expanding the problem to all 50 states. 

The SAVE Act also poses challenges to people who've undergone name changes, as many trans folks (and married women) have. 

While the SAVE Act is intended to “reduce non-citizen voting” — an incredibly rare occurrence — it would disenfranchise voters, including those who don’t conform to the gender binary.  

With the SAVE Act moving through Congress, it’s crucial that we stand against it. You can do so by contacting your representatives via our action alert! 

Oppose the SAVE Act 

LWVUS opposes the SAVE Act and voter ID laws and actively works to protect voters from disenfranchisement. For more information on what the League has done to protect transgender and non-binary individuals, click here and here. If you want to get involved and help protect all voters from disenfranchisement, find your local League!