Sarah McBride Wins DE House Primary

On Tuesday, Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride won the Democratic Primary for the state’s only U.S. House seat for the state, winning 80 percent of the vote in a resounding win against two challengers.

McBride came out in May 2012 in an op-Ed for The Eagle, the student newspaper at American University, where she had just ended her term as their student body president the previous day.

“Yesterday, I ended my term as AU’s student body president,” the letter began. “I have learned and grown so much over the last year, both personally and professionally.

“As proud as I am of all of the issues we tackled together, the biggest take away, for me, has been the resolution of an internal struggle.

“For my entire life, I’ve wrestled with my gender identity. It was only after the experiences of this year that I was able to come to terms with what had been my deepest secret: I’m transgender.

“At an early age, I also developed my love of politics. I wrestled with the idea that my dream and my identity seemed mutually exclusive; I had to pick. So I picked what I thought was easier and wouldn’t disappoint people.”

While noting that many Trans individuals are rejected by their friends or families, McBride said her conversations had been met with “immediate support and unconditional love.”

McBride ended her letter saying “I now know that my dreams and my identity are only mutually exclusive if I try.”

Prior to coming out, McBride worked for Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and attorney general Beau Biden.
After she came out, Beau Biden and then Vice President Joe Biden were among the many to reach out, congratulate, and express support.

Later in 2012, she became a White House intern — the first Transgender person to ever work there in any capacity. In January 2013 McBride joined the board of Equality Delaware, and led lobbying efforts to, in June 2013, successfully pass state protections against discrimination in housing, employment, insurance, and public accommodations for LGBTQ+ individuals.

I met Sarah McBride in October 2013, after she shared her story at the HRC National Dinner — the premiere event for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the world.
We chatted about having gay siblings, how to get stuff done in a purple state, and our optimism for the future.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege to root for McBride as a friend, watching her become HRC’s national press secretary, speak at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and announce her candidacy for — and then win — a seat in the Delaware senate, becoming the state’s first Trans lawmaker.

The last Republican to hold Delaware’s only seat was Mike Castle, elected in 1992 after two terms as Governor, who held the seat until 2008.

The last time a Republican won Delaware’s four electoral college votes was George H.W. Bush in 1988.
In less than two months McBride is well-positioned to become the first Trans person elected to the U.S. Congress.

ID Laws Disenfranchise Trans Voters

This month UCLA’s Williams Institute published “The Potential Impact of Voter Identification Laws on Transgender Voters in the 2024 General Election,” a report on the potential impact of U.S. voter ID laws on Trans voters. The Williams Institute has published this report during every federal election since 2012.

“Since our last report in 2022, many states have changed their voting laws,” the report reads, “Specifically, between January 1, 2023 and May 3, 2024, 18 states passed 24 laws that restrict their voting procedures.”
It added that, when including the entire period since the 2020 election, 27 states have new voter ID laws on the books.

In total, 36 states currently have voter ID laws in effect for the upcoming November 5, 2024 general election.

Trans individuals — especially those who live in Republican-led states — are especially burdened by ID requirements. In a poll of over 48,000 Trans Americans, the Williams Institute study found that only 17.2 percent had the correct name and gender on all of their IDs.

57 percent had no documents listing their correct name and gender.

Certain demographic groups were found to be more likely to have no IDs with the correct name and gender: 65.2 percent for Latinx or Hispanic respondents, 77.8 percent of those ages 18 to 24, 65.9 percent of current students, 67.1 percent of those at or near the poverty level, and 65.8 percent of those with a disability.

The report calculated that 276,500 eligible Trans voters (including 5,000 Virginians) did not have documents that meet voter ID law requirements. It continued that “ten states have photo ID laws that are considered strict. An estimated 172,800 transgender eligible voters live in these states, 53 percent of whom (91,300) do not have any IDs with their correct name and gender marker.

“These 91,300 potential voters may face substantial barriers to voting, including possible disenfranchisement, in the November 2024 general election.”

This includes 14,900 voters in Georgia — a state Donald Trump lost by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020 — and 9,400 in Arizona, where he lost by fewer than 11,000.