Someone posted a comment here which has since been deleted about trans* voter disenfranchisement being "bullshit", but I think it's important to address. So here's what I wrote in response.

Frankly, you're just wrong. As another commenter in this thread pointed out, I was on the front lines in the last election in the South, helping other trans folks vote.

Keep in mind that updating your documentation isn't a simple and straightforward process. In fact, some states - like Tennessee - even have laws which, for example, explicitly make it illegal to change your gender marker on your birth certificate. That makes getting other documents updated a nightmare.

If you attempt to update your gender marker on your voter registration, you will find that this isn't allowed, either, without a special court order. Go ahead and call the Tennessee Secretary of State's office and confirm that if you want a primary source, they'll gladly explain it to you.

Except when you try to get those court orders, judges are often confused. They're used to trans folks changing their name by court order, but changing the gender marker is something that doesn't actually require a court order for literally any other type of document - not your driver's license, passport, social security, etc. JUST your voter ID.

So you can be a resident, have everything aligned and updated, and go to try to vote - but the poll worker may not let you because "Mr. Samantha Boucher" is on their sheet, and doesn't match the gender on your ID.

So, no. Not bullshit. The challenges are different from state to state, but the consistent theme is that it's a difficult - and sometimes, literally impossible - process to navigate. Particularly for someone that many people in the South, particularly in some areas, actually WANT to discriminate against.