Nick Fulton Prism
Kansas officials have said that gender markers will not affect voting, but that hasn’t quelled trans voters’ fears in a state that requires ID at the polls
Kansas revoked IDs in February of trans residents who had changed their gender markers. In the months since, trans Kansans have reported experiencing direct harm and isolation as a result of not having a legal ID consistent with their gender identity. As the midterm elections approach, GOP advertisers are spending tens of millions on anti-trans ads. Meanwhile, trans Kansans are increasingly concerned about what voting will look like in a state that requires a photo ID at the polls.
Kansas state officials have said that gender markers will not be policed or affect voters’ eligibility. But that hasn’t quelled some residents’ fears.
“Whenever a trans person hands over their ID to somebody—especially when their gender markers are mismatched—they’re really taking a risk in an otherwise pretty mundane interaction,” said Nigel Morton, senior Kansas organizer at URGE, a national reproductive justice organization. “The situation at that point is completely in the other person’s hands.”
The office of the Kansas Secretary of State did not respond to a request for a comment on trans voting rights this election cycle by publication time.
After the ID revocations, trans Kansans were forced to either change their gender marker back to their sex assigned at birth, live without a valid ID, or leave the state. In addition to the revocations, Kansas Senate Bill 244 authorized $1,000 lawsuits against trans people for using public restrooms, and created additional fines and jail time for violations.
Trans Kansans have not accepted this as the new normal. The same day that SB 244 passed, two anonymous trans plaintiffs, using the pseudonyms Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe, filed a lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP. The case, Doe v. State of Kansas, challenges the legality of SB 244, with those most significantly affected by the law at the center. (Disclosure: Ballard Spahr LLP provides legal support to Prism.)
“Hopefully at the end of the day, we can get relief for transgender and intersex people throughout Kansas,” said Harper Seldin, a staff attorney in the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project who is working on the case. “There really is no limit to what legislatures are willing to do to try to push transgender people out of public life.”
The state district court is currently hearing arguments for Doe v. Kansas. Seldin hopes that the case progresses swiftly, underlining how trans Kansans can’t live under these legal limitations.
“Our plaintiffs are just ordinary folks who are trying to live their lives in their communities where they’ve been embedded for many years,” Seldin said. “Laws like this basically say, ‘You don’t belong here. You’re not the kind of person who’s fit to be in society with other people. And we’re going to demonstrate that via your driver’s license, making you hang a sign around your neck that makes you declare your trans and intersex status.’”
While trans Kansans wait for further action in the case, the November midterms raise significant concern over what voting will look and feel like for trans people without a valid ID.
“This does have a potential to dissuade trans voters,” said Nyla Foster, executive director of Trans Women of Color Collective, a Black, trans-led national grassroots organization.
Foster was one of the lead plaintiffs in a 2018 lawsuit challenging the Kansas law barring trans residents from correcting gender markers on their birth certificates. Foster’s legal challenge was successful, and she hopes Doe v. Kansas might further the protections won in her case.
For trans Kansans concerned about voting this election, experts underlined the rights and protections that still exist at the polls.
“On paper, the gender marker on your ID has no impact on your ability to vote,” said Ceridwen Cherry, legal director at VoteRiders, an organization focused on removing voter ID barriers. “So regardless of what type of ID you have—whether it matches your current gender marker or chosen name or anything like that—we really want people to still show up and vote.”
VoteRiders is supporting voters by compiling ID laws across the country and offering free assistance to anyone who needs an updated ID.
While trans people in Kansas can legally participate in the elections, information on their voting rights is not clear or accessible, according to Foster.
We definitely need information out there to let trans voters know that yes, there might be some challenges with getting IDs, but you still are a citizen, you still are able to vote. You still are a human.Nyla Foster, Trans Women of Color Collective executive director
“We definitely need information out there to let trans voters know that yes, there might be some challenges with getting IDs, but you still are a citizen, you still are able to vote. You still are a human,” Foster said. “It’s really important for us to figure out a way to reroute this misinformation … and provide folks with the tools and access and resources, so they can make it to the polls.”
From January to September, GOP advertisers spent more than $60 million airing nearly 200 TV ads that reference trans people. This line of attack, combined with the ID laws, could impact voter turnout, Foster said. But she hopes it also motivates deeper engagement.
“I understand that the way that we have survived all the different eras and issues is by coming together and mobilizing and organizing,” Foster said. “Do not faint. This is not a time for us to closet ourselves and silo ourselves. We need to get out. We need to get to those polls.”
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