In early 2020 a trans woman filed a lawsuit against Mecklenburg County and the state of North Carolina. The transsexual woman demanded $25,000 after an election officer asked for identification “because your face doesn’t match your name,” while voting in November 2019, the report said that it allegedly caused emotional distress to the 28-year-old trans woman.
The report also stated that the transgender woman was utilizing a curbside voting location created for people with impairments when the incident took place, though they did not specify whether the woman had a physical disability. The transgender woman then, who goes by the name Jane Doe, is seeking $25,000 in damages and claims that the chief precinct judge’s requirement for identification violated her right to equal protection.
While trying to vote, an election official allegedly asked to see the transgender woman’s ID because “your face doesn’t match your name.” While this is going on, her driver’s license has a picture that matches her gender identity as well as the person’s legal name, which is usually a man.
Charlotte attorney Faith Fox who filed a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina and Mecklenburg County on behalf of the 28-year-old transgender woman said that “Jane Doe” has been identified as a female since age 4 and has lived as one since the age of 14, has a typically male name, and is in the process of legally changing it.
The woman recalled the incident, saying, “The chief judge came out and said, ‘I need ID,’ and I said, ‘What is the issue?’”
(She) then says to me, ‘The issue is your face doesn’t match your name.’ I said, ‘Why must you see my ID when it’s not a requirement?’ She looks at me, eyeball to eyeball, (and says), ‘For you, it’s a requirement.’ I said, ‘Well, why me? Is it because I’m transgender?’”
The trans woman had to wait for approximately an hour before she could cast her ballot, during which the situation left her “crying and trying to hide” from bystanders around her car, as the lawsuit claims that after the election officer made the request, there was a protracted dispute that attracted a large audience of onlookers.
A federal judge prevented a constitutional amendment that North Carolina voters approved in 2018 that would have required voters to present identification from going into effect. Accordingly, Michael Dickerson, director of elections for Mecklenburg County, said that since an ID wasn’t required at the time of the incident in issue, the election official shouldn’t have asked anyone for one.
Dickerson explained, “Generally speaking, you do not show ID.” Of course, that wasn’t enough for the transgender lady involved, who thinks she deserves $25,000 for the grief she was given, adding that “We just want to make sure that everybody is aware of the sensitivity needs of a lot of people.”
Her complaint also alleges that elections officials broke the state constitution, were careless in their hiring procedures, and purposefully caused emotional distress. Fox report said that transgender voters are vulnerable to particular challenges “as they are consistently and illegally denied the opportunity to have their appropriate sex or gender designation reflected on any birth certificate or driver’s license documents.”
People concerned about the accuracy of our elections should find it much more upsetting, while this incident may be troublesome to the transgender woman involved. What was just said in this situation is that a person can vote under the identity of a man while posing as a woman, and if anyone disputes it, they risk getting into trouble. Anyone who wants to make sure their vote counts shouldn’t accept it as acceptable. Naturally, we also don’t want to encourage discrimination.
This could have been prevented if everyone had been requested to provide identity, as the amendment approved by the people mandates. After all, the transgender woman and her lawyer claimed that the ID she was holding matched both her gender identity and her outwardly feminine look.
She would have shown identification if it had been necessary, clearing up any doubt, and been given the go-ahead to cast her ballot. Is that a more logical option than allowing everyone to vote without providing any evidence that they are who they claim to be? Voters in North Carolina reportedly agreed.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: TapHaps, WCOSTV, CharlotteObserver