We Count

Today’s post come from the Voice of America and is about voter disenfranchisement of trans voters.

Voter ID Laws May Keep Transgender Voters From the Polls
Reuters
October 04, 2016

NEW YORK —
Up to 34,000 transgender people in the United States could face problems voting in next month's election because their ID cards do not match their gender, advocacy groups said, urging them to vote by mail to avoid being turned away at the polls.

Transgender rights have come under increasing scrutiny in the United States with access to public bathrooms and health care dominating media coverage and political discourse in recent months.

Thousands of transgender people, however, might be unable to vote in the November 8 presidential election in states with stringent voter ID laws, according to a report by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“A transgender voter may show up at the poll with a valid ID, however if they have not been able to update the gender marker or photo on that ID, a poll worker may be confused and refuse them a ballot,” said Arli Christian, spokeswoman for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).
[…]
“It’s a shame that a trans person would have to put themselves at risk of scrutiny, harassment, discrimination to exercise something as basic as their right to vote,” Christian said.

The Daily Banter wrote that,

Claire Swinford recalled her first time at the polls as her true self in an interview with The Daily Beast in 2012. In 2010, Swinford tried to cast a ballot in the Arizona primary when a poll worker stopped her and told her she would not be able to vote. The reason? Swinford had not been able to afford the more than $200 fee required to change the gender on her ID. “Everyone in the place can overhear the conversation where the person is questioning my identity and calling me sir,” she said.

Eventually, Swinford was able to vote because she would not allow the poll worker to bully her, but not everyone knows their rights. “It’s a shame that a trans person would have to put themselves at risk of scrutiny, harassment, discrimination to exercise something as basic as their right to vote,” Christian said. 

The next paragraph says it all…

This is exactly the point of voter ID laws. Although the Bush Administration investigated "voter fraud" for five years and came up with nothing, the GOP still uses tales of invisible people voting to suppress minority populations. If you are a trans person, the best way to stop this is assault on the Constitution is to know your rights; and that is why the National Center for Transgender Equality has a "Voting While Trans" checklist to help protect your unalienable right to participate in our democracy:

If you hear someone complaining or writing a comment about voter fraud challenge them for their data because there is no rampant voter fraud here in the U.S. Here in Connecticut the Secretary of State does random audits of towns and they haven’t found any voter fraud, what they did find was a lot of people who moved and never cancelled their voter registration in their former town and they also a number of dead persons on the voter list. What they didn’t find was them voting, no dead people voting, and no voting by residents who have moved.

NCTE checklist says,

CHECKLIST BEFORE ELECTION DAY:

• Check your voter registration status or register to vote at www.canivote.org. Verify that the name and address is up to date, and if not, make sure to update your information.
• Check to see what or if any ID is required when you vote in your state by going to www.866ourvote.org/state, and then get the appropriate form of ID if needed.
• If ID is needed in your state, make sure your name and address on your voter registration matches your name and address on your ID by the election. But don’t worry if your gender identity or gender presentation doesn’t match your name, photo, or gender marker, as that is not required by law.
• If your state allows voting-by-mail (often called “absentee voting”), consider signing up for that through www.canivote.org. In many states, you no longer need to be traveling on Election Day to be able to vote-by-mail.

CHECKLIST FOR ELECTION DAY:

• If ID is required in your state, bring it. It is also helpful to bring your voter registration card, a utility bill showing the address where you are registered, and this one-pager. You might also want to bring other IDs if you have them available.
• If poll workers question your identity or eligibility to vote, show them the utility bill and the info for poll workers below.
• If you are still not allowed to vote, look for a volunteer attorney at the polling place who may be there assisting voters who are being told they cannot vote. If no one is around, then call the National Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for help.
• If you are still not allowed to vote on a regular ballot, request a provisional ballot. If you are forced to use a provisional ballot, ask for follow-up instructions, as you generally must return to election officials within a few days to prove your identity in order for your ballot to be counted. If you cast a provisional ballot, call the National Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683), which can help you make sure your ballot is counted.

To here in Connecticut if you have a problem voting call the Secretary of State’s office to report it at CT Election Day Hotline # 1-866-733-2463 or elections@ct.gov to report any issues or problems. Their website has a FAQ list.