Election 2024: For young LGBTQ+ voters, casting a ballot comes with unique challenges

When 19-year-old JQ Shearin casts their ballot for the first time in the November general election, they will do so under an identity that the third-year UCLA student says no longer reflects who they are.

Shearin identifies as gender non-binary and lives life as “JQ” — a different name from the one assigned to them at birth, which they call their “dead name,” the legal name with which they no longer identify.

Like many newly eligible college and Generation Z voters, Shearin looks forward to voting for the first time in the November election. But having to use a name that isn’t reflective of who they are, they said, evokes “complicated” feelings. And their experience is one of many examples of obstacles faced by new and returning LGBTQ+ voters in the election season.

As Election Day looms closer, Shearin and many in the diverse LGBTQ+ electorate are having to navigate challenges at the polls — from voter registration hurdles and legal name changes, to deciding what issues matter most to the communities they represent — all while facing the reality of certain election outcomes which could affect that.

Because of financial and personal concerns, Shearin has not been able to change their official name or gender in California voter registration documents. They also hesitate to make changes for fear of repercussions — a concern that plagues many LGBTQ+ and non-binary community members, Sherain and many advocates say.

Over 275,000 eligible transgender voters across the U.S. do not have identifying documents matching their affirmed name or gender marker, a new study analyzing voter obstacles from the Williams Institute found — which is around 43% of voting-eligible individuals living in states that conduct their elections primarily in-person, as opposed to fully by mail. The researchers said this poses a challenge for trans voters who may feel torn between the discomfort of being misidentified or invalidated, and their desire to exercise the right to vote and help bring about change.

Black, Indigenous, and people of color transgender communities, young adults, students, those experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities were also overrepresented among the groups who may face barriers due to voter ID laws in the 2024 election cycle, the report showed.

Differing voter ID laws across states have made things more challenging. Leading up to the November general election, the Williams Institute estimated at least 91,300 eligible trans voters could face disenfranchisement — being stripped of their voting rights — in states with stricter ID requirements, such as Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

California allows requests to legally change names and update gender markers to match one’s gender identity. All first-time voters are required to provide a copy of a valid ID showing their updated legal name and gender, but there is no law requiring a matching gender identity with presentation. 

But the fee for filing a name change request is at least $435, according to the California Courts website, making the process both expensive and less accessible, advocates say.

As the editor-in-chief of OutWrite, UCLA’s LGBTQ+ news magazine, Shearin sees issues on the ballot that are pertinent to them and their community. They desire to be more politically engaged this November and beyond — whichever candidates or issues win.

While Shearin is “grateful to get to express their voice at all” through voting, still having to use a name and gender they feel uncomfortable with “tarnishes that experience,” they said.

“I get to, in my own small way, contribute to a political climate that’s less anti-queer, that’s more liberating, that’s more positive in general for me,” Shearin said. “On the other hand, no one likes having to attribute themselves as the name that they don’t feel comfortable under.”

A 2019 Human Rights Campaign study on LGBTQ+ voting barriers found that 16% of all LGBTQ+ adults — over half (51%) of trans adults, and 63% of BIPOC trans adults — chose not to vote or were unable/ineligible to in at least one election in their lifetime, due to voting obstacles.

Still, civic engagement remains strong among eligible trans voters. About 75% of voting-eligible respondents of the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election, compared to 67% in the general U.S. population. Among those not registered or able to vote, respondents reported reasons like legal name change issues, wanting to avoid harassment at the polling place or being unaware of their state’s voter ID laws.

Resources for trans voters — such as voter ID requirements, an election protection hotline and legal support — are available through organizations like ALL IN, TRANSform the Vote, the National LGBTQ Task Force and others.

Getting down to the issues

Despite barriers, young LGBTQ+ voters and community advocates across Southern California are making their voices heard — through the polls, issues and other ways of engagement.

For Caitlin Callaghan, a doctorate student at UC Irvine, voting means getting down the issues — and what certain candidates prioritize — when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights.

Callaghan, who is bisexual, is watching the CA-47 congressional race between Democratic state Sen. Dave Min and former GOP Assemblymember Scott Baugh. The district, which flipped blue in 2022, would turn back into a Republican-held seat if Baugh wins — a scenario Callaghan said “worries” her.

She is concerned if the results of the election lead to a Republican majority in Congress because “a lot of the proposed laws could be dangerous to us (the LGBTQ+ community), particularly with the current makeup of the Supreme Court.” If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to reevaluate Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that makes same-sex marriage legal at the federal level, she is not confident it would survive.

Matthew Craffey, former president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Los Angeles, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights and equality, feels the community is at “an interesting place where most big battles for equality have been won.”

The Log Cabin Republicans support candidates that continue to uphold pro-LGBTQ+ rights — such as marriage equality — but its members are not necessarily in favor of “some of the more extreme cases,” Craffey noted. He said he noticed center- and right-leaning voters in the LGBTQ+ community have different opinions on issues that more left-leaning members prioritize, such as the debate about gender-affirming care for minors.

One issue on the November ballot in California, which has the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ population, could directly impact same-sex couples.

If approved, California’s Prop. 3 would codify same-sex marriage rights into the state constitution, replacing an older provision (Prop. 8) that defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Instead, it would affirm marriage — regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity — as a fundamental right in California, something many LGBTQ+ members and allies are strongly in favor of.

Legislators and lobbyists in support of Prop. 3 say the measure “prepares” the state, should the Supreme Court’s 2015 landmark decision granting LGBTQ+ couples the right to marry, get overturned.

Craffey said the Log Cabin Republicans support Prop. 3, and the group has been behind the fight for same-sex marriage equality in California for years.

“We’re definitely supportive of codifying it out of anything that could be potentially rolled back,” Craffey said. “Even though I don’t feel like there’s a huge fear of that in California.”

Kevin Perez is the co-founder of Somos Familia Valle, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ communities in the San Fernando Valley. Perez said that supporting Prop. 3 is a high priority for his organization this election, and they are looking to increase turnout in the East Valley through canvassing, phone banking and educating voters about what’s on their ballot.

Perez, who identifies as a gay man, said it can sometimes feel difficult to go to the polls, knowing that some workers may not be “sensitivity trained” as LGBTQ+ allies. Instead, Perez said he opts to vote by mail, ensuring “both convenience and safety while voting,” he said.

“In person it sometimes does get a little difficult to go to the polls, because (election workers) might not be LGBT ally-trained,” Perez, 32, said. Adding that for those who are transgender or non-binary, and who may not have their preferred name and pronouns on their ID, “it does get difficult when they’re trying to search or (workers) might question the person if it’s really them.”

But this is unsustainable — voting accessibility is crucial to make LGBTQ+ voices heard, Perez said.

“When we think about voting, we need to make sure the most marginalized are included.”

Students and voting centers uphold protection at the polls

Aashi Jhawer, a second-year UCLA student and co-executive director of the California chapter of Voters of Tomorrow PAC, is excited to cast her vote in her first presidential election. But she said that LGBTQ+ students, who may feel “intimidated or inconvenienced” at the polls, should feel “like they have a safe environment to be able to go vote.”

Students should also know about any available options for voting — such as dropping off mail-in or absentee ballots — if they ever feel unsafe, Jhawer said.

It’s important for schools to provide spaces — such as UCLA’s three voting centers — that ensure students “feel like they can do it comfortably; don’t have to worry about the legalities of it, the social stigmas and all of that,” Jhawer said.

Miah Terrazas, a fifth-year student at Cal Poly Pomona, works in the campus Pride Center, a supportive space for LGBTQ+ students and faculty. As a transgender woman, Terrazas said she feels grateful to get to exercise her rights in California and to vote locally in order to “make a difference… on the macroscale.”

“We don’t really think about how smaller things might affect us in the long run, especially things like small changes in laws, small little language changes,” Terrazas said. “The better we mobilize, the better things might be for all of us.”

She also hopes that “more restrictive” states will follow suit in creating a “safer” environment for transgender voters.

“I think it’s unfortunate… that I have these rights and protections my brothers and sisters and brethren might not have in a state like Arkansas or Alabama or Texas,” she said.

In the March primaries, the new Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center in L.A.’s Fairfax area made history as the first voting center in the U.S. located in a transgender support facility, providing a safe space for diverse trans and nonbinary voters to get to the polls. The center at 1001 N. Martel Ave. in Los Angeles will be available again in the November election.

California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis called the center “a significant milestone in our efforts to champion equality, inclusivity and LGBTQA+ rights in California.”

Queen Shannon Gipson, chief operating officer with the Unique Women’s Coalition, which focuses on empowering the Black trans community, said that each month the center holds monthly town halls for leaders and community members to talk about civic engagement and possible election outcomes.

The Empowerment Center also has its “Rock the Vote” online portal, where people can check their voting status, register and take the pledge to vote.

“We engage with the community to find out where they are, meet their needs and help them vote comfortably,” Gipson said.

City News Service contributed to this report.