This story was written by Teen Vogue's 2024 Student Correspondents, a team of college students and recent graduates covering the election cycle from key battleground states.
Restrictive identification requirements and voter ID laws can make it difficult for youth in the United States who identify within the Two Spirit, transgender, and gender-nonconforming (2STGNC) umbrella to cast a ballot. Ahead of the 2024 general election, a few voter ID groups are determined to ensure these young people are not disenfranchised.
Transgender rights continue to be at the center of political attacks, as mainstream media outlets normalize anti-trans rhetoric and legislatures across the country file a mounting number of anti-trans bills each year. That’s why advocates are stressing the importance of demarginalizing trans and gender-nonconforming people’s access to vote.
Teen Vogue previously reported on pre-election polling from digital health care service Folx Health that found “the top three issues in order for the trans adults surveyed were LGBTQ+ issues, including health care access; threats to democracy; and the war on Gaza.” Per the survey, 90% of trans people are registered voters.
Are you registered to vote? Check your voter registration here.
“It's impossible to separate voting rights and trans rights when we're thinking about the experience of the trans community at the ballot box this fall,” VoteRiders executive director Lauren Kunis tells Teen Vogue. The national voting rights organization is partnered with HeadCount to get more LGBTQ+ young people the correct identification they need to register to vote.
According to HeadCount, 27 states have strict identification rules that slow down the process for trans and gender-nonconforming people to change their legal name or update their gender marker on key documents such as driver’s licenses and birth certificates. VoteRiders also lists more than 35 states that have voter ID laws, meaning people must present a form of ID the government accepts to confirm their identity before participating in elections. Eighteen of those states have enacted stricter policies since 2020, when the movement to vote by mail or absentee ballot peaked during the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Says Kunis, voter ID education this cycle “could be a real difference maker.” For that reason, VoteRiders assembled staff to expand voter outreach on the ground in eight states it expects to be tightly contested: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The organization's strategy also leans on virtual volunteers and a communications campaign via email, chatbot, and a mobile helpline (866-ID-2-VOTE).
While more than 825,000 trans adults in the US are eligible to vote in the 2024 elections, at least 210,000 do not have identification that accurately reflects their current name and/or gender presentation, as was cited in a September Williams Institute study. All 50 states and the District of Columbia mandate that people’s voter registration match their legal name. The Advocates for Trans Equality’s #VotingWhileTrans guide says that gender discrepancies on IDs should not be a valid reason to deny a regular ballot.
“Due to varying state laws, many trans people can’t update their IDs to reflect their gender identity,” Ash Orr, the organization's press relations manager, tells Teen Vogue via email. “Many people, especially those with low incomes, in rural regions, or limited access to resources, struggle to obtain photo IDs.”
Arizona is one of several states with restrictive identification requirements and voter ID laws. For example, a legal name change alone calls for a court order. Folks must also go through the Social Security Administration and the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) to update their driver’s license and, to realign their birth certificate as well, the Bureau of Vital Records — with high costs every step of the way. According to All Voting Is Local, a first-time voter in the US has to spend approximately $105.53 to vote.
“The patchwork of policies is further complicated by burdensome and often circular documentation requirements,” reads a Movement Advancement Project report. “The fact that a person often needs one form of accurate ID (such as a birth certificate) to get another ID (such as a driver’s license) means that updating any document is particularly challenging for transgender and nonbinary people.”
In the past year, Florida’s health department has declined to amend gender markers on trans birth certificates, reported Orion Rummler for The 19th. At least 12 states demand people submit proof of gender-affirmation surgery to change the gender marker on their birth certificate and a majority of states deny residents the option to mark “X” on their driver’s license, excluding nonbinary people. The Texas Department of Safety issued a new rule late this summer blocking trans people in the state from changing the gender marker on their current driver’s license. Them confirmed the Department of Health Services banned trans Texans from updating the gender marker listed on their birth certificates days later.
“Trans individuals who often face high rates of poverty, unemployment, and discrimination, are disproportionately likely to lack photo IDs due to these barriers and fear of disrespect or discrimination during the application process,” Orr says. While photo ID is an option, trans and gender-nonconforming voters in some states, like Arizona, do not have to show one. They can exhibit two forms of non-photo ID with their proper name and address, such as bills or bank statements dated within 90 days, certain tribal IDs, and others.
VoteRiders Arizona coordinator Dani Duarte — whose state House Rep. Lorena Austin is the first Chicanx gender-nonconforming legislator in the country — works with a local law group to help trans and gender-nonconforming voters “take care of everything” within the multi-pronged process, including court fees and office transportation. “It’s also very anxiety-ridden,” Duarte says, especially for people with disabilities. “I have gone with many voters to the MVD to walk them through it because it is not a very inclusive space.”
Arizona is presently the only state with laws imposing documented proof of US citizenship to vote in state and local elections, but the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a similar bill earlier this year. VoteBeat reporters found that “young adults living on or near college campuses in Arizona are disproportionately affected and potentially disenfranchised” by the legislation because they may not have easy access to their documents.
A recent national analysis of voter ID data from the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland shows that American youth are the least likely to have a driver’s license with their current name and/or address. Potential voting challenges could affect 31% of people 18 to 29 years old because young and low-income adults are more likely to lack ID or have an outdated form of ID, compared with just 11% of people over age 30.
Beyond the systemic failures that create obstacles to getting and presenting identification, trans and gender-nonconforming voters can still face disrespect and intimidation at polling stations. “If your name or gender marker doesn’t match your appearance, there’s potential for harassment," N.T. Mather previously wrote for Teen Vogue. "The fear of getting outed by an ID (and subsequent abuse) is what some researchers call ‘ID anxiety.’”
Multiple groups that offer information to folks with questions about their state’s voter ID regulations recommend voting by mail, if that option is available, to ensure safer, simpler participation in the democratic process. Says Orr, “Ignorance and bias among poll workers can lead to misunderstandings, causing them to think the ID is suspicious and try to prevent voting.”
Trans Lifeline has shared a set of instructions from Lambda Legal on what to do when being confronted at the polls: Locate a volunteer attorney or poll observer; call the National Election Protection Hotline; and, if necessary, request a provisional ballot.
Registered voters can visit the website for the National Association of State Secretaries to check their status and see if their details on file are correct. Various states let folks register to vote on Election Day, though advocates do suggest starting early. Visit Trans Lifeline’s ID Change Library for direct access to ID documents.
Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take
