This coming Tuesday, the nation will elect its next president, but there are many who are afraid to vote, or even unable to vote in this election. I am among them.
Increasingly strict voting laws have made it difficult for many marginalized demographics to vote. I, and many others, believe those in power, in both major parties, are best served by silencing minority voices.
Yet, racial minorities and low income households are not the only groups adversely effected. An estimated 34,000 transgender citizens may be prevented from voting by ID requirements. According to The Williams Institute, an estimated 30% of transgender American citizens who have transitioned to live full time as their true gender do not have updated photo identification.
Many of the tens of thousands of at-risk individuals won’t even attempt voting, for fear of being publicly humiliated or facing charges for voter fraud simply for exercising their right to vote. While there are no statistics about voter suppression of transgendered individuals, there is anecdotal evidence shared within the transgender community. As in the case of transphobic violence, victims are frequently shamed or threatened into silence.
Since many in the transgender community fear repercussions for speaking out, a number of trans writers are now speaking out to spread awareness. In solidarity, I’d like to share my personal experience of difficulties voting as a trans woman.
I moved from Virginia in 2009, but I still have a Virginia ID because until late in 2015, I was struggling financially and couldn’t justify the expense of replacing an ID which hadn’t yet expired. Additionally, for reasons not related to my gender status, I don’t drive.
Since coming out as transgender, I have had greater difficulty finding and maintaining employment. I had not voted because I was distracted with trying to find housing, meet my basic needs and survive paycheck to paycheck, or sometimes with no paycheck at all.
This year, I have more stability, and I desperately want to exercise my right to vote in this election where many candidates have made it their business to debate about whether or not I should have human rights; but, I need to renew my ID and update my state of residence to do so. I am also in the process of changing my name and gender marker, which is complicated and expensive. I must first pay a fee of several hundred dollars to go before a judge with my medical documentation which includes a signed letter from the doctor who provides my hormone therapy. Then, when (or if) my name change is approved I must pay additional fees to navigate the labyrinthine bureaucracy of the DMV and the Social Security Administration in order to ensure that all of my documentation is updated within a timely manner and therefore not in breach of any laws.
If I paid to renew my ID before completing this whole process, I’d just have to pay the same fee again after my name was changed. Additionally, I feared that changing my ID in the process of working on my name change might hold up the process of the name change. I wanted to avoid unnecessary delays and expenses, so I decided to complete my name change before updating my identification.
The name change process took longer than anticipated because I had changed doctors after becoming insured. My new doctor’s office forgot to mail me the requested paperwork for my name change for several weeks. With the election looming and without any knowledge of how soon my court date might be scheduled, it looked like my name change might go through just before the election. If I registered to vote under my old name, I would have a new one on voting day and my registration would no longer be valid. I feared this would make my vote fraudulent. Since there’s a cut-off date beyond which you cannot register to vote, I would not be able to change my registration if I waited until I knew if my name change would go through prior to the election. I decided not to risk it.
Now, after another hitch in the name-change process, I won’t have my new legal name until after the vote, but I still have an out of state ID. I can’t register in Florida, and it’s far too late to request an absentee ballot from Virginia; a prospect which also seems troublesome even if it was possible.
Registering to vote can be complicated, time consuming, costly and frustrating, and changing one’s name and gender marker is even more daunting. I was unable to coordinate these two bureaucracy intensive endeavors, so I will not be voting this year.
Even though Trans voices are speaking up, our government isn’t hearing us. They don’t listen when we ask for simplified methods of changing our names. They don’t listen when we ask for fair healthcare. They don’t listen when we ask them to stop people from murdering us. I’m not surprised they haven’t heard our concerns about disenfranchisement or that they won’t ensure we have the right to vote for someone who might listen better.
All citizens, especially those for whom voting has been difficult in the past, must be able to exercise their right to vote. And for that to occur, the entire voting system must be simplified with accessibility as its most important goal. The voices which are not being heard by politicians between elections are the very voices of those who cannot speak through their vote. As it stands, the more money one has, the easier it is to vote, and those who are cisgender, white, abled-bodied, and young have more ability to vote, and thus, more voting power than other groups. I am appalled and frustrating that those who already have free access to vote have not only not made this their concern but have enacted even more hurdles to prevent other citizens from voting. We can’t call our country free and just if the political system depends upon the suppression of multiple groups to stay in power. That’s not democracy. That’s tyranny.
If you are transgender and planning to vote on Tuesday this resource can help you avoid any complications.