Kansans challenge state law that invalidated trans residents’ IDs ahead of midterm elections

Kansans are fighting back in court to block a new state law that invalidated transgender residents’ driver’s licenses and birth certificates, depriving them of their required voter ID just a few months before the state’s 2026 primary election. 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of two trans Kansans by the national American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Kansas and the firm Stinson LLP, is asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional and block its enforcement.

The new state law went into effect Thursday after Republican lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly (D)’s veto on Feb. 18, immediately invalidating trans residents’ identification. 

The measure includes sweeping restrictions targeting transgender Kansans, including restroom prohibitions, a private right of action to sue someone suspected of violating the law and new ID hurdles that could prevent Kansans from voting.

The new law invalidates any driver’s license that doesn’t reflect the individual’s gender assigned at birth. It requires state offices to “correct” driver’s license records, notify individuals of the change and issue a new license after a resident surrenders the invalidated one. It also directs state offices to invalidate and reissue birth certificates to “correct the sex identification” to reflect a resident’s sex assigned at birth. 

Though it will immediately prevent trans Kansans from driving and receiving public services, Kansans are also very concerned by its potential impacts on voting, according to Harper Seldin, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. 

“I do think that’s one of the reasons why attacks, or even potential attacks, on people’s ability to vote are so frightening [is] because government is supposed to be responsive to us — not the other way around,” Seldin said. “Weakening that link between people who can vote and actually being able to vote is anti-democratic and alarming for anyone who’s interested in keeping government power in check.”

He’s also worried the Kansas law could spread to more states. 

“I do think laws like this inspire other states to see what they can do to make it more difficult for people to vote — specifically for certain people to vote — through things like manipulating rules about identity documents,” Seldin said.

In a statement on social media Thursday, the Congressional Equality Caucus also sounded the alarm. 

“People rely on their driver’s licenses to meet their basic needs—like getting to work or the store—and, in Kansas, to vote. Now, [Kansas] is stripping trans people of their accurate IDs, including driver’s licenses, in an election year. This is dangerous & cruel voter suppression,” the caucus said.

Kansans have until July 14 to register to vote in the state’s 2026 primary election. A driver’s license is one of the most common forms of identification in a state that requires a photo ID to vote. 

Anthony Alvarez, a transgender Kansan who works at the advocacy group Loud Light Civic Action, said in a statement after the measure passed that his life would be deeply affected by the new law.

“Every aspect of my public life will be subject to policing – from when I show my ID to vote or go to the bank to when I want to visit my friends in their dorm room or when I wash my hands before I eat,” Alvarez said.