Voting While Trans: How Voter ID Laws Unconstitutionally Compel the Speech of Trans Voters

Authors

Emmy Maluf, University of Michigan Law School

Abstract

Thirty-five states currently request or require identification documents for in-person voting, and these requirements uniquely impact transgender voters. Of the more than 697,800 voting-eligible trans people living in states that conduct primarily in-person elections, almost half (43 percent) lack documents that correctly reflect their name or gender. When an ID does not align with a trans voter’s gender presentation, the voter may be disenfranchised—either because a poll worker denies them the right to cast a ballot or because the voter ID requirement chills their participation in the first place. Further, when a trans voter presents an ID that does not align with their gender presentation, they effectively out themselves. For both nonpassing and cispassing trans voters, presenting an ID that does not align with their gender identity compels them to express a message about their identity that they do not personally believe. In response to these problems for trans voters, this Note offers a novel legal avenue through which to challenge voter ID laws, arguing that voter-ID requirements as applied to trans voters constitute compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Recommended Citation

Emmy Maluf, Voting While Trans: How Voter ID Laws Unconstitutionally Compel the Speech of Trans Voters, 122 Mich. L. Rev. 927 (2024).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol122/iss5/4