According to a report released Tuesday by the Williams Institute, more than 210,000 eligible transgender adults might have trouble voting this fall. This is because their ID documents don’t match their gender, and they live in states with strict voter ID laws.  

In states where voters don’t have the proper ID, they have to use a provisional ballot, a temporary vote recorded when there are questions about their eligibility. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, sometimes state laws require voters to submit a photo ID after Election Day for their provisional ballot to be counted. 

The Williams Institute report says that voters in 27 states will face new restrictions in the 2024 election that were not present for the 2020 election. 

A March survey by GLAAD found that LGBTQ voters are eager to vote in this year’s presidential election. Eighty-three percent said they are voting. On a scale from zero to 10, 88 percent rated their motivation to vote between seven and 10. 

A July survey of over 1,200 transgender adults showed that 32 percent are excited about the upcoming election, especially with Vice President Harris as the Democratic nominee. 

Another 2020 survey from Advocates for Trans Equality found that more than 80 percent of transgender people who could vote were registered to vote, showing that they are very politically active. 

Thirty-six states require voters to show some form of ID at the polls, such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or military ID. In nine states—Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kansas—voters must show a photo ID to vote. 

Thirty-three of these states hold their elections mainly in person at polling places. Voter ID laws in these states require voters to show extra proof at the polls beyond just registering to vote. The strictest laws don’t provide options for people who don’t have a photo ID or have one that doesn’t match their appearance, which can be a problem for many transgender people. 

According to the report, nearly 173,000 transgender adults live in states with the strictest voter ID laws. This makes up about one-fifth of all transgender Americans who can vote in the 2024 elections. About 276,500 transgender adults don’t have ID documents that match their chosen name or gender identity, but not all of them live in states with strict voter ID laws. 

Three of the swing states that will help decide the presidential election, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, have strict voter ID laws. These laws affect about 135,500 transgender adults, making it harder for them to vote. 

In states like Florida and Texas, transgender people can’t change the gender on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates. They also face significant challenges when trying to change their name legally. 

When transgender voters start living as their chosen gender, they might need to update their IDs to show their correct name, photo, and gender. If allowed by their states, this can be expensive and time-consuming. Many report that the changes are problematic because rules for changing gender markers differ from state to state and between federal agencies. 

Transgender people who are Black, Indigenous, or from other racial or ethnic groups, as well as young adults, students, people with low incomes, those who are homeless, or those with disabilities, are more likely to have IDs that don’t “match their voting information.” 

Voter ID laws can be a big problem for many transgender people, especially in close elections where every vote counts, according to Jody L. Herman, a senior public policy expert at the Williams Institute. She said states can help by changing their voter ID laws and making it easier and cheaper for transgender people to get accurate identification documents. 

It’s not a new problem for this voting bloc. In 2014, transgender people were “disenfranchised” by voter ID laws. In 2020, nearly 380 thousand transgender individuals claimed obstacles in voting. Even 2018’s midterms revisited the issues faced by transgender people attempting to vote. 

There’s no doubt that the transgender population is here to stay. In the interest of fairness, states should figure out ways to include them at the polls. ID laws were designed to keep ineligible voters from casting ballots, not to block eligible ones from participating.