{"id":22101,"date":"2024-09-03T20:14:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T20:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/?p=22101"},"modified":"2024-09-03T20:14:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T20:14:19","slug":"https-19thnews-org-2024-08-ballot-access-barriers-trans-voters-states-id-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/https-19thnews-org-2024-08-ballot-access-barriers-trans-voters-states-id-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"THE 19TH: Anti-trans laws may complicate access to the ballot for trans voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY BARBARA RODRIGUEZ<\/a>, GRACE PANETTA<\/a>, THE 19TH \u2014 AUGUST 30, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n

Advocacy groups are mobilizing to safeguard access to the ballot as states implement laws that could deter trans people from voting in November.<\/h3>\n

In Kansas, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have drafted a letter reminding election workers that a gender marker on a person\u2019s identification does not need to match or correspond to a voter\u2019s gender expression. Staff for the organization have also held clinics elsewhere to prepare trans Americans for the identification requirements they will have to navigate.<\/p>\n

In eight battleground states, the nonprofit VoteRiders<\/a> is on the ground helping voters get the identification they need to cast ballots in the November election \u2014 and one that reflects who they are.<\/p>\n

Equality Florida, the state\u2019s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group, is holding \u201cknow your rights\u201d trainings in the wake of new regulations barring many transgender voters from obtaining photo identification that reflects their gender.<\/p>\n

As Republican politicians push anti-transgender rhetoric ahead of a historic election, transgender and nonbinary Americans are facing new laws and rules that effectively prohibit them and others from obtaining documentation like birth certificates and driver\u2019s licenses that align with their gender identities.<\/p>\n

Advocates are fighting back. They\u2019ve been mobilizing communities and organizing resources to help transgender Americans, an effort aimed at safeguarding their civic rights. Some trans voters have expressed confusion and fear of discrimination at the ballot box that could discourage them from participating in public life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a chilling effect,\u201d said Lauren Kunis, CEO and executive director of VoteRiders, which helps voters obtain identification. \u201cThere is an unsafe and intimidating environment around existing as trans in society, and definitely in being able to go to the polls safely and cast a ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n