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Study Finds Transgender Americans Face Voting Barriers in 2020 Presidential
Election

Chris Simkins

   WASHINGTON - Onesegment of the electorate may beunable to voteif poll
   workersare notable to certify their identity.

   Itisthereality facing hundreds of thousands of transgender Americansin
   the 2020U.S.presidentialelection.

   An estimated378,000 eligible transgendervotersdo not
   have'¯identificationsuch as a driver's license that reflects
   theirname,appearance ornewgender'¯identity,according to a studyby the
   Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

   "If thosepoll workers decidethat those ID'sdon'tadequatelyor accurately
   reflect the person who is standing in front of them,they wouldn't be
   able vote,"said JodyHerman, aresearch scholarand co-author of the
   report.

   TheLos Angeles-basedorganization founded in 2001 conducts
   independentnonpartisanresearch on sexual orientation,gender identity
   law and public policy.

   Registered votersin stateswithstrictidentificationlawsmustproduce a
   government-issued photo IDtocast a ballotat polling locations.

   "Trans people in generalarefrequentlyplacedunder immediate suspicion if
   they don't conformvisually to what their IDshows,"SashaBuchert,asenior
   lawyer with Lambda Legal,told VOA[1]Lambda Legal,founded in
   1973,focuses onthe civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
   transgender people and individuals living with HIV.

   Buchertidentifies as a transgender female."They're placed under higher
   skepticism,whether it'sopeningabank account, trying to get a jobor at
   the voting booth."

   Some transgender voters are rushing toobtainnew identification
   documentsbeforeElection Day.

   "I made an appointmentfora new photo IDat theDMV(Department of Motor
   Vehicles)and couldn't get an
   appointmentuntilJanuary2021,"saidBuchert."I thinkwith thecoronavirus
   pandemic,we'regoing to seeproblemsacross the countryas transpeopletryto
   update their IDsintimefor the election."

   Toavoid potential confusion with ID requirements,Buchertwill vote by
   mailin Washington, D.C.

   Research suggests260,000 transgenderpeople without IDs live in one of
   35 statesthatrequire'¯voters to show'¯a photoidentificationbefore they
   can vote.Political analysts say the requirements couldimpactDemocratic
   Party turnout,asmosttransgendervoters areDemocrats.

   Backers of'¯voterID'¯laws'¯say thelawsareintended to
   combatfraud.Voter'¯rights advocatescontendthe number of actualvoter
   fraudcases is small and restrictions disproportionately affect poor and
   minority'¯voters.

References

   1. https://www.lambdalegal.org/about-us/jobs

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