#PWNVotes 2026 Resource Hub

Disclaimer: PWN is a nonpartisan organization, which means we will never tell you which candidate  to vote for or which party to vote with. We make sure the issues most impacting women (transgender and cisgender), transgender, and gender diverse people living with HIV are front and center before, during, and after elections. 

Jump to one of these sections below:

In the United States, there are over 1 million people living with HIV. We are a powerful voting bloc made up of people most impacted by HIV and the people who love us.

This year, there are local, state and federal races on the ballot that will shape our futures. 

We cannot tell you who to vote for; but, we can give you easy, accessible information on when, where, and how to vote. Use this #PWNVotes toolkit to find local voting information and the races on your ballot.

What’s At Stake In 2026?

It feels like every election is “the most important election of our lifetime.” It’s exhausting… and too often true. Once again, so much is at stake in the 2026 mid-terms, especially for communities most targeted by the current administration and impacted by extreme state violence in our political environment, including people living with HIV, immigrant communities, and transgender people and the LGBTQ+ communities, Black and Brown communities, people with disabilities, and poor and working class people.

The biggest issues we are watching that impact people living with HIV include:

Level of GovernmentWho’s On The BallotWhat They DoIssues They Control
FEDERAL (United States Congress)

US House of Representative

US Senators

Pass federal laws

Funds federal programs (eg. SNAP, ADAP)

Funding for ICE

Funding for healthcare, including Medicaid and Ryan White

STATE

Governor

State Representatives

Draw maps for voting (Redistricting)

Pass state budget (e.g. healthcare and schools)

Pass state laws (e.g. HIV criminalization)

Redistricting

Additional funding for healthcare, including Medicaid

Criminalization (HIV and immigration)

LOCAL

County Judge

City Council

Pass city/county budget

Pass local ordinances

Funding for local programs (e.g. parks, libraries, etc)

Criminalization (e.g. homelessness)

See this PWN resource for more information on elected officials and what they do.

Learn More About The Issues

Voting alone will not save us, solve all political problems, or transform oppressive systems. Yet, voting is one tool in the fight against the rising tide of fascism. Voting demonstrates our communities are paying attention, that we haven’t been overwhelmed by the chaos nor given in to the intentional confusion. Elections create opportunities to hold elected officials accountable, educate our communities, and build local and national power.

Make no mistake: Women living with HIV are a powerful voting bloc. As PWN continues organizing nationwide around the issues impacting our communities, we know that our voices must be heard at the ballot box. This toolkit has everything you need to get informed, feel safe, and prepared to cast your vote this fall. If our voices weren’t powerful, they wouldn’t try to take it away.

Expanding Healthcare Access

The Facts: Healthcare is essential for WLHIV. In the U.S., more than 50% of PLHIV rely on Ryan White for medical services, 40% are on Medicaid, and around 25% are on Medicare. Through collective advocacy, we prevented nearly $2 billion in cuts to HIV care and prevention in the 2026 federal budget. We prevented healthcare cuts on the state-level too. For example, the Florida Department of Health proposed a gutting of the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Fierce advocacy led to Governor DeSantis signing a temporary law to prevent the changes. 

What’s at stake: Unfortunately, this year Congress is proposing to gut healthcare programs in order to finance an unprecedented increase in funding for ICE and Border Patrol. States, moreover, continue to push ADAP cuts claiming “budget shortfalls.” It’s exhausting to keep fighting for a basic human right. We need policymakers who will create policies that ensure everyone has the healthcare we need, regardless of race, gender, immigration status, or ability to pay – and elections are one tool to help get us there. 

Resources

  • To learn more about how the role of healthcare may impact the 2026 mid-terms, utilize this Kaiser Family Foundation resource. 
  • Click HERE to see if your state has a 2026 healthcare policy measure on the ballot. 

The Facts: Since the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) held that there is no right to abortion under the United States Constitution, ideologically driven policies at the federal and state level continue to narrow access to reproductive services and funding. True comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care includes access to safe and legal abortions. Respect for bodily autonomy, an essential part of the Denver Principles, demands that everyone has the right to make decisions about their own body without other people’s interference. 

What’s at stake: Women living with HIV, like everyone else, deserve the ability to exercise reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.  We need policymakers who know that gender identity, HIV status, immigration status, race, and income level should not be barriers to healthcare, including abortion care – and elections are one tool to help get us there. 

Resources

  • Click HERE to see if your state has a 2026 abortion related ballot measure. 
  • Use THIS Kaiser Family Foundation resource to learn more about the landscape of 2026 state abortion initiatives.

Protecting Immigrant Communities

The Facts: Until 2010,  the United States barred entry to immigrants living with HIV. However, immigrants with HIV continue to face barriers to accessing care. Immigrants face disproportionate barriers to accessing healthcare due to finances, language barriers, fear of surveillance, and hateful state and federal policies. Impacts are disproportionately felt by Black immigrants. For example, African immigrants have an HIV incidence rate that is six times higher than others in their age group. 

What’s at stake: Anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies lead to delayed care and avoidance of care. Additionally, the increased criminalization of immigrants leads to immigrants living with HIV experiencing inadequate medical attention while in immigration detention. Healthcare is a human right, regardless of immigration status. We need policymakers who will fund healthcare instead of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s inhumane treatment of our immigrant siblings – elections are one tool to help get us there.

Resources

  • Click HERE to see if your state has a 2026 immigration policy ballot measure. 

Ending Attacks on Trans Communities

The Facts: Trans people face disproportionate rates of HIV due to systemic barriers, violence, and stigma that impacts access to care, prevention, and treatment. Trans women, especially trans women of color, face compounding legal, social, and political barriers that block access to economic security, healthcare, housing, education, and more. More than 30%, a third of trans women, for example, reported being unhoused or homeless in a year. Trans women face legal barriers in updating identity documents, difficulty accessing care due to lack of provider knowledge, discrimination that leads to unemployment and increased risk of poverty, and an onslaught of fatal violence. This is also a global issue, with HIV rates for transgender women being 66 times higher than others in their age group. 

What’s at stake: Trans people have been scapegoated by bigoted politicians in an attempt to create fear, divide communities, and gain political power. The Lemkin Institute has released multiple warnings that the U.S. is in the midst of an anti-trans genocide. We need policymakers who unequivocally and unapologetically fight for the rights of trans people – and elections are one tool to help get us there.

Resources

A note from PWN: Queer people are under attack and LGBQ+ people also face disproportionate rates of HIV. We focused on trans people in this section in acknowledgement of a cruel truth: The U.S. has built a social, political, and economic system that alienates and kills trans people, and it is especially dangerous for trans people who hold multiple, marginalized identities. When Black trans women living with HIV are free, we will all be free. 

Building Political Power in Black Communities

The Facts: Voter suppression tactics disproportionately affect communities already facing other forms of discrimination and oppression, including PLHIV. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais decimated the remaining protections in the Voting Rights Act, a landmark civil rights law that has helped to restrict racial gerrymandering and voter discrimination since 1965. This attack greenlights voter suppression and allows states to further dilute Black political power. 

What’s at stake: Access to voting rights is one component of building Black political power. Gutting voting rights protections is a method to silence the power of Black voters, including PLHIV. Black Voters Matter predicts that the Callias decision will risk 19 seats in the House of Representatives, including risking up to 30% of seats held by the Congressional Black Caucus. 

Resources

  • For more information on the Callias impact at the federal and state level, refer to Black Voters Matter. There are state reports available for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, MIssiisspi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

The Facts: Black people in the United States are disproportionately impacted by HIV due to mutually reinforcing barriers, including medical racism, discrimination, and poverty. Demographically, Black women are disproportionately impacted. As of 2022, 56% of all women living with HIV in the U.S. are Black. 

What’s at stake: HIV is a racial justice issue. We will never “End the Epidemic” without centering racial equity. We need policymakers who will work with Black people living with HIV to transform our systems in service of racial justice and Black liberation – and elections are one tool to help get us there.

Resources:

  • Check out the United We Rise Black Voters Guide. It was created in 2024 and the content is evergreen and powerful!

The Facts: Criminal laws reinforce inequity by targeting already marginalized and oppressed communities. Black people, LGBTQ+ people, women, sex workers, people who use drugs, and immigrants are some of the groups most surveilled, harassed, and arrested by police. PLHIV, moreover, are punished under HIV criminalization laws that criminalize behavior that would be legal if not for HIV status. These laws are discriminatory, criminalizing behavior by punishing prevention rather than protecting communities. In addition to existing prejudices and systemic barriers, communities of people living at various intersections face higher risks of criminalization, which leads to collateral consequences in accessing material resources, protecting immigration status, and accessing the right to vote. 

What’s at stake: Over the last few years, more money has been taken from healthcare in order to subsidize criminalization through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, military, private weapons manufacturers, and other law enforcement agencies. We need policymakers who are determined to decrease the ever growing and increasing system of criminalization through policing, prison/jails, detention, militarization, and surveillance  – and elections are one tool to help get us there.

Resources

  • Click HERE to see which states have 2026 Criminal Justice ballot measures – which include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Tennessee.

Share this information with at least 3 people in your family, friend group, and community. Remember, the power of the people will never be defeated.

Where and How to Vote

  • Check your voter registration.
  • Make a plan to vote early, in person, or by mailing in your vote.
    • Early voting – usually 2 weeks before election day. Early votingallows you to vote in person prior to Election Day and avoid long lines!
      • Use this map to see if your state allows early in-person voting as well as operating hours for early voting poll places!
    • Election Day In-Person Voting – only on Election Day. Election Day is November 3, 2026  and polling times vary by state.
      • You can find out where your polling place is, here. It’s always good to check your polling location hasn’t changed since the last time you voted. Be sure to also note the time of your polling place operating hours! 
      • Some states require Voter ID to vote in-person. Make sure to find out what is required in your state so that you are properly prepared!
    • Mail-in voting – deadlines vary. Confirm your mail-in application deadline as soon as possible. Some states allow voters to vote by mail or drop off their ballots if they are unable to vote in person. Once you have casted your mail-in ballot, track it!
      • Deadlines for mail-in ballots are different for each state.
      • Check when your ballots have to be received and whether your state allows mail-in or absentee voting, here.
  • You’re ready to cast your vote and make your voice heard!

Questions About Your Voting Eligibility?

  • Voting with a felony. Depending on your state, you may still be able to vote if you have a felony! Use the Brennan Center for Justice map to identify your state’s laws on criminal disenfranchisement and if possible, restore your voting rights. 
  • Voting as a new citizen, You have the right to vote. You are allowed to ask for assistance to vote in a different language. Contact your state or local election office to see if they have voting information in your first language, a poll worker who speaks your language, or if a translation is allowed.
    • Assistance at the polls: under federal law, any voters who have difficulty reading or writing English can receive assistance at the polls from the person of their choice so long as that person is not the voter’s employer or an agent of the voter’s union.

Know Your Rights and Election Day Safety Tips

As 2026 November midterm elections approach, the fight to protect voting rights will intensify as federal and state level voter suppression threats grow. Voter suppression tactics disproportionately affect people living with HIV and communities most impacted by HIV, including people of color, women, poor and working class people, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people. 

Voter suppression is not always obvious. Here are some common ways voter suppression can look on Election Day:

  • NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS A POLLING LOCATION
  • LONG LINES DUE TO MACHINES NOT WORKING
  • ELECTION WORKERS TURNING AWAY ELIGIBLE VOTERS

Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) for the Election Protection Hotline if you experience voter intimidation or run into any problems on Election Day.

  • Accessibility is required under federal law. 
    • All polling locations must be in full compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility requirements. 
    • Access to the polls: If you are experiencing an issue getting into or around your polling place due to your need for mobility assistance, ask a poll worker for curbside assistance. 
    • If that is not provided to you, please report the incident to your local election office. 
    • You have the right to ask for accessibility support to help you cast your vote, such as bringing someone to help you (cannot be your employer or union representative), service animal support, large print materials, wheelchair/mobility device access, and accessible voting devices. You can call your election office ahead of election day to ensure proper support is provided. 
  • Transgender and gender diverse voters
    • If ID is needed in your state, make sure your name and address on your voter registration matches your name and address on your ID by the election. But don’t worry if your gender identity or gender presentation doesn’t match your name, photo, or gender marker, as that is not required by law.
    • For more information, including information for poll workers and election officials if you encounter issues, click here.
    • Check out Voters For Trans Equality’s guide on Voting While Trans. 
  • You are NOT allowed to participate in electioneering. 
    • Electioneering is the act of influencing someone to vote a certain way through political activities near voting sites. 
    • Check HERE to identify the specific restriction on political activities near polling places in your state. 

  • Confirm transportation!
    • Carpool with your friends and family 
    • Rideshare or Taxi services – ask if they have a discount code! 
    • Medical transportation: call them and check if they are provided extended services for Election Day  
    • Community rides: Some local businesses or organizations may also be arranging rides to the polls! Check around your area and spread the word
  • Invite a friend and bring some snacks! 
    • Buddy Up! There’s safety in numbers. Ask a friend or family member to accompany you to the polls and vote together.
    • Bring water and snacks in case there are long lines.
      • To make sure you don’t have to wait too long in line, try visiting the polls during off-peak hours! Typically, polls are busiest in the early morning, lunch time, and again around mid evening. 
    • Wear a mask and use hand sanitizer to protect from Covid, the flu, and other respiratory illnesses
  • Prepare and stay safe! 
  • If you run into any problems on Election Day, call the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). For Spanish, call 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (1-866-839-8682)

Share this information with at least 3 people in your family, friend group, and community. Remember, the power of the people will never be defeated.