VOTER CARDS,
In the lead-up to the federal election Oct. 19, Alberta transgender rights activists are questioning the delivery of voter information cards with incorrect names.
As of last week, the Trans Equality Society of Alberta had been contacted by 35 transgender persons across the province who received voting cards with their birth names, rather than their chosen names. Some had officially changed their names years before.
“It’s just a really weird problem since supposedly this information is taken from your taxes,” society president Jan Buterman said.
Buterman said having an incorrect name on a card likely happens to many Canadians who have changed their names, such as women who take their husband’s surname when they marry. However, the risks of being “outed” by the information card is unique to transgender people, he said.
The name on Buterman’s own voter registration was correct this year, but in the 2011 election, the card carried his birth name, despite having filed taxes for two years under his chosen name and having moved and updated his address.
“It was surreal to get this card with completely not my legal name and then the correct address. It had the potential to out me to the Canada Post employee,” he said.
On Wednesday, Elections Canada added a section for transgender voters to its frequently asked questions page, with details explaining accepted I.D. options.
Elections Canada spokeswoman Diane Benson couldn’t speak to why the names on some voter cards were incorrect, but said her organization regularly does outreach with different groups to help facilitate the voting process.
Buterman said Elections Canada’s suggestions what to tell officials at the polling station are helpful, but said it puts the burden on the transgender person to correct the issue. It also creates potential for trans persons to have to out themselves to election workers and others waiting in line to vote.
Buterman added that voter registration isn’t the only time trans- gender people are incorrectly named; he said it often comes up when dealing with things such as insurance or post-secondary registration.