Trans* people’s perceptions of political participation in the wake of voter ID requirements: evidence from the UK

Ash Kayte Stokoe; Kit Colliver

doi:10.1332/25151088Y2025D000000089

Trans* people’s perceptions of political participation in the wake of voter ID requirements: evidence from the UK

Ash Kayte Stokoe, Kit Colliver^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

York Law School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The UK Elections Act 2022 introduced a photo ID requirement for voting in person in UK general elections and local elections in England and Wales. Fiercely debated, civil society groups raised concerns that voter ID would disproportionately impact minorities, including trans* people. Exploring trans* voters’ responses to the new rules, this paper presents data from an online survey (n=205) and semi-structured interviews (n=15) collected in the aftermath of the English local elections in May 2023.

Findings lend support to concerns that voter ID could contribute to voter suppression amongst trans* people in the UK. Participants anticipated a shift towards postal voting and overall decrease in likelihood to vote. Barriers to participation centred on anxiety about presenting photo ID due to potential for dysphoria, misgendering and challenge. We argue that understanding these affective responses is an important element in unpicking how the new rules will affect trans* people’s voting behaviour.

Original language	English
Number of pages	25
Journal	European Journal of Politics and Gender
Early online date	21 Apr 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1332/25151088Y2025D000000089
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 21 Apr 2025

Bibliographical note

Keywords

trans*
voter ID
United Kingdom
political participation
voter suppression
emotion

Access to Document

10.1332/25151088Y2025D000000089Licence: CC BY

Trans* people’s perceptions of political participation in the wake of voter identification requirements: evidence from the UK
© Authors 2025
Final published version, 732 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "The UK Elections Act 2022 introduced a photo ID requirement for voting in person in UK general elections and local elections in England and Wales. Fiercely debated, civil society groups raised concerns that voter ID would disproportionately impact minorities, including trans* people. Exploring trans* voters{\textquoteright} responses to the new rules, this paper presents data from an online survey (n=205) and semi-structured interviews (n=15) collected in the aftermath of the English local elections in May 2023. Findings lend support to concerns that voter ID could contribute to voter suppression amongst trans* people in the UK. Participants anticipated a shift towards postal voting and overall decrease in likelihood to vote. Barriers to participation centred on anxiety about presenting photo ID due to potential for dysphoria, misgendering and challenge. We argue that understanding these affective responses is an important element in unpicking how the new rules will affect trans* people{\textquoteright}s voting behaviour.",

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