New voting laws being proposed in Michigan and across the U.S. could disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters if enacted. It is important that you know these laws have not yet taken effect.

However, if these changes were ever to go into effect, they will impact members of the adoptee community. This includes intercountry adoptees who are U.S. citizens but do not have documentary proof, and face significant financial and legal barriers in obtaining that proof. It also includes some U.S.-born adoptees who struggle to obtain identity documents, proof of adoption, or other required documents, whose birth records may differ in appearance from those of non-adopted people, or who have voluntarily changed their names to better reflect their identity at birth prior to adoption.

The adoptee voice is important and civic participation is critical for adopted people. If you are an adoptee who is experiencing difficulty obtaining documents, your story matters. We are collecting experiences to raise awareness amongst adopted people and their families so that we can ensure everyone has the same accurate information about voting, report and address problems that are occurring, and work on solutions to avoid any negative impacts on the civic engagement of our community. If you are an adoptee who has experienced difficulty obtaining identity or citizenship documents, especially in ways that could affect your ability to vote if proof of citizenship is required, your story matters. We are collecting these experiences to help ensure that adoptees are not disenfranchised and to protect full access to civic participation.

To learn more about this issue and how adopted people are impacted when they are not able to obtain documentary proof of identity, please visit the Michigan Adoptee Rights Website / How a Legislator’s Proposed Voting Restrictions Will Disenfranchise Adopted People

State of Michigan Voter Information Center