On August 13, a historic number of trans voters mobilized to demonstrate their support for Kamala Harris in a ‘Trans Folks for Harris’ Zoom call.
Following a recent survey from Advocates for Trans Equality which found that 75% of trans people eligible to vote did so in the last election, both trans people themselves and politicians have realized the impact and importance of having trans voters on your side. “A lot of times, elected officials have not really taken our issues seriously, in part because they think that we’re too small of a community to matter,” Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of Advocates for Trans Equality, tells The 19th. “Now we’ve been able to prove that that is not true at all.”
This ‘Trans Folks for Harris’ Zoom call was the first time that trans leaders in activism and politics got together to endorse a political candidate. Notable figures in attendance included Delaware Senator Sarah McBride and activist Charlotte Clymer.
Despite overwhelming attacks on trans rights from state legislature over the past few years, trans people have been making incredible steps in acceptance at different levels of state leadership, as the level of elected state officials who are trans has increased.
“We have so much power,” Clymer says. “We have way more power than they think, that’s for damn sure. And when we use that power, when we organize together and have each other’s backs, we can do great things.”
As well as the 1,000 people who joined the Zoom call, over 2,600 have since watched the fundraiser itself. Despite previous concerns about Harris’ commitment to protecting trans rights at a federal level, her choice of Tim Walz as a Vice Presidential candidate has endeared voters to her. Walz is a proven trans ally, so much so that Trump has used it against him, saying that Walz was “very heavy into transgender.”
With this notable and incredibly important election coming up in the next few months, we all must exercise our federal right to vote. Go to vote.org to easily register to vote or check your voter registration.
Photo courtesy of social media
