NBC News segment claims ID laws 'disproportionally' impacts trans voters
An NBC News segment argued that trans voters were heavily affected by stricter voter identification laws in many states ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
NBC News suggested Wednesday that transgender voters are being negatively impacted by voter identification laws ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
During the morning show, anchors Joe Fryer and Savannah Sellers promoted the trans issue as a topic that should concern "Gen Z" voters.
"As Gen Z gears up to hit the polls, transgender voters are concerned they might be blocked from casting their ballots," Fryer said.
"That’s because a growing number of states are enforcing stricter voter identification laws that disproportionally impact the community," Sellers added.
Advocates for transgender people march from the South Dakota governor's mansion to the Capitol in Pierre, S.D., on March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File)
PBS NEWSHOUR WORRIES ABOUT VOTER SUPPRESSION IN GEORGIA, DESPITE RECORD EARLY VOTING TURNOUT
The two spoke with Jo Yurcaba, reporter for NBC OUT, the LGBTQ section at NBC News Digital, to discuss what they consider to be "obstacles for transgender people."
"Voter ID laws disproportionally impact trans people, because trans people are more likely to have IDs without the name they go by and the gender marker that reflects how they present. And recent research shows that just over 200,000 eligible trans voters in 31 states that both conduct the elections mostly in person and require or request ID at the polls don’t have IDs that reflect their gender identities and the names they go by. In the states that have the strictest voter ID laws are mostly concentrated in the South and Midwest. You know, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Kansas, the voters there are going to be most affected," Yurcaba explained.
Fryer added that "being transgender while actually voting can be dangerous" as Yurcaba described the "danger" reported by a transgender voter.
Georgia saw record levels of voter turnout ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. (REUTERS/Emily Elconin)
"He said a lot of people around him were looking at him suspiciously because they saw that he had been flagged by poll workers. And he said it is incredibly dangerous for trans-people both due to the waves of anti-trans legislation that we’ve seen, but also in states like Tennessee where we have seen five anti-trans bills become law last year. The combination of the two make that kind of thing at the polls dangerous for trans voters," Yurcaba said.
FLASHBACK: CNN, MSNBC RAN WITH ‘JIM CROW’ VOTER SUPPRESSION CLAIMS IN GEORGIA BEFORE RECORD TURNOUT
Democratic politicians and the liberal media have repeatedly attacked the idea of strict voter ID laws despite these laws enjoying a majority of support by Americans. Many have insisted that these laws are more akin to voter suppression or even racism with some, such as CNN’s Don Lemon and President Biden, even comparing them to Jim Crow laws.
Mainstream media and Democratic politicians have claimed that voter identification laws were akin to "voter suppression." (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
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Despite these frequent attacks against voter ID laws, Georgia, which enacted a new voter law in 2021, has already seen record turnouts in early voting for the 2022 midterm elections. Some politicians and members of the mainstream media nevertheless continued to suggest that this does not negate their claims of voter suppression.
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