A second transgender candidate running for a seat in the Republican-majority Ohio House is at risk of being disqualified from the ballot after omitting her former name on circulating petitions.
The Mercer County Board of Elections is set to vote Thursday on whether Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize County and one of four transgender individuals campaigning for the Legislature, is eligible to run after not disclosing her previous name, also known as her deadname, on her petition paperwork.
A little-used Ohio elections law, unfamiliar even to many state elections officials, mandates that candidates disclose any name changes in the last five years on their petitions paperwork, with exemptions for name changes due to marriage. But the law isn’t listed in the 33-page candidate requirement guide and there is no space on the petition paperwork to list any former names.
It’s more that it’s trying to catch people who’ve changed their names for political purposes.
People who got married and changed their name notionally didn’t do so for political purposes, and are therefore excluded from having to report.
It’s not that it’s to provide blanket history on every candidate for research purposes. It’s a catch to ferret out those who would abuse the name change process to avoid accountability. This gives the public the ability to know if that is occuring.