Voting identification is conducted at two stages of the electoral process: “first for registration to establish the right to vote, and afterwards, at the voting time, to allow a citizen to exercise their right to vote by verifying that the person satisfies all the requirements needed to vote.”[1] EMBs may make general arrangements or adopt special measures to ensure that all voters can be properly identified during Election Day, including specific groups of people that may face challenges during the identification process, including women wearing a veil and transgender voters.

Invasive identification procedures during Election Day may go against the religious beliefs of women wearing a veil and might make them feel their dignity has been harmed. In several countries, EMBs establish identification procedures to ensure that women wearing a veil can exercise their right to vote with dignity.

Example: In Palestine, where there are no separate polling stations for men and women, any women wearing a veil can unveil in front of any female polling officer to have her identify verified. If there are no female polling officers present, the staff can ask any women in the polling station to assist in the process.[2]

Example: In Australia, voters state their name and address, which is checked against the voters register. When registering, voters do need to state the identification number displayed on their ID (which normally contains a photo) but there is no requirement to actually show the registration clerk the ID card. This might raise concerns of people "stealing" the identity of another voter in order to prevent that voter to cast the ballot. Such matters are dealt with by a number of methods, for example by issuing tendered ballots.[3]

For more information on this topic, please see the ACE Project consolidated reply “Identification of voters wearing a veil.”

Identification procedures in polling stations during Election Day can also be an area of concern for transgender voters, considering that their actual gender identity does not always match the one in their official identity documents. In some countries, EMBs have adopted special procedures and practices to promote the participation of transgender and intersex voters in the electoral process, by ensuring an inclusive identification process. These measures should be analyzed taking into account the larger framework of national legislation and policies on gender identity.

Example: In Mexico, the National Electoral Institute’s (INE) Trans protocol includes provisions to ensure that transgender people can fully exercise their right to vote. “All trans citizens with voting credentials and registered in the voters’ list shall be able to cast their vote during the Election Day. In no case the lack of concordance between the gender expression of voters and their photography, or between the name and sex in the voting credentials, could be a legitimate cause to restrict or forbid the right to vote. […] If any of the stakeholders in the polling station oppose or reject the participation of trans people, it should be registered in the incident report form. […] A printed foldout should be available in all polling stations, showing the equality measures to promote the effective right to vote of trans people. If necessary, polling officers can make use of this printed foldout.”[4]

Example: In Canada, people whose appearance does not match their ID photo should be able to vote, as long as their name and address on the ID matches the one on their voter registration. Furthermore, it is not compulsory to show a photo ID or ID that includes sex indicators. There are other identification options available for voters, such as credit cards, school transcripts or utility bills, among others,[5] so that transgender people whose name does not match the one on the ID or who have not changed their gender marker can effectively participate and cast their vote. Also, if voters use two pieces of ID with different sex indicators, they can still vote, as long as their name and address matches their voter registration.[6] Transgender people who are worried about being misgendered or challenged publicly can decide to vote by mail or in advance at their returning office, instead of voting at their local polling station.

Example: In the 2014 presidential elections in El Salvador, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal manifested in an institutional statement that “All LGBTI persons, particularly the transgender population, has the right to exercise their vote, as long as their physical features are unambiguous in their ID photography, their socially assigned name coincides with their ID number and the voter list, their signature coincides with the one in their ID and they comply with the provisions contained in Article 196 of the Electoral Code, referring to the voting process”.[7] In the 2018 legislative and local elections, the training guide for polling officers states that “trans people should not be denied the right to vote when their ID photography does not match their physical appearance. It should be enough if polling officers verify their physical features and there is a correspondence between the name, number and signature in the ID with regards to the voter registration data”.[8]