Election Day 2023

In the last decade, the LGBTQ+ community  made tremendous advances toward the goal of true legal and social equality in the United States. However, we are now seeing how quickly some of those advances can be reversed, whether by elected officials or by the courts. The rise of anti-LGBTQ+, and particularly transphobic, laws and rhetoric have left many in our community wondering how to make a difference. One critical way to ensure that the LGBTQ+ community’s voice is always heard in the political process is to get out and vote. National, state, and local elections give us an opportunity to support the issues we believe in and the candidates who will be our best advocates and defenders of LGBTQ+ rights.

The National LGBTQ+ Bar encourages all who are eligible to vote to take several steps:

1. • Ensure that you are registered to vote in the jurisdiction where you claim legal residency; 

   • Do your research into the issues and candidates that will be on your ballot in each election; 

   • Vote! In every election, no matter how small!; and 

   • Put volunteer time into helping others to exercise their right to vote.

Volunteering for a voting campaign can take several forms: You may want to work to ensure that eligible voters are registered; you might want to put time into volunteering for pro-LGBTQ+ candidates or educating voters on issues of importance to the LGBTQ+ community; you might also or alternatively want to put your time into getting out the vote on and around Election Day.

It’s important to keep an eye on initiatives that will be on ballots which particularly affect the LGBTQ+ community. Reminding your colleagues who are from those jurisdictions of these important issues up for a vote may encourage participation in elections and also provide a way to personalize the voting experience. Remember, life is busy: people can easily get distracted and forget about elections, particularly the state and local ones that aren’t covered as heavily as federal elections are in the media. You can have a solid impact by encouraging LGBTQ+ people and other allies in your community to show up at the polls (or to mail in their vote-by-mail ballots). In addition, you can check out your local League of Women Voters chapter or your statewide Equality organization to hop on their Election Day teams.

Please feel free to utilize Lambda Legal’s Voting Rights Guide for transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary people (available in English and Spanish). Additionally, if you or someone you know is experiencing ID-related issues when trying to vote, please contact the Lambda Legal help desk for assistance.

Please click on your state or territory for a voter registration link.