STUDY: Voter ID Laws in 10 States May Disenfranchise Transgender Citizens

This November, thousands of trans people in ten Southern and Midwestern U.S. states will face strict photo ID laws that may bar them from voting.

According to a new study, strict voter ID laws in 10 states may create substantial barriers for transgender citizens during this November's general elections.

The 10 "strict photo ID states" that researchers at the University of California Los Angeles's Williams Institute considered were Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Within these states, approximately 24,000 trans citizens whose identification documents do not reflect their correct gender could become disenfranchised. This is an estimated 28 percent of the states' voting-eligible trans population.

Trans people of color, youth, students, people with low incomes, and people with disabilities face extra barriers to meeting requirements — which vary widely by state — for updating their state-issued and federally-issued IDs.

"Lawmakers should not overlook the consequences of enacting stricter voter ID laws on transgender voters," lead researcher Jody L. Herman cautioned in the report. "Election officials must consider the potential impact of these laws in the upcoming November elections. Voter ID laws create a unique barrier for transgender [citizens] who would otherwise be eligible to vote."