Arienne Childrey, a transgender candidate in Ohio, was cleared to run on Thursday after her certification had been called into question for omitting her former name on qualifying petitions as required by a little-used state elections law.
The Mercer County Board of Elections decided not to vote on disqualifying Childrey.
Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize county, is one of the four trans individuals campaigning for the legislature. She declared that if she had known the law, she would have given her deadname when she legally changed her name in 2020.
"I would have filled out whatever was necessary, because at the end of the day, while it would have been a hit to my pride, there is something much more important than my pride, and that's fighting for this community," Childrey said.
The state elections officials noted that they are unfamiliar with Ohio law, which requires candidates to declare any name changes in the past five years, with exemptions for changes caused by marriage. However, the law was not listed in the 33-page candidate requirement guide, and there was no space to list any former names on the petition paperwork.
All four trans candidates for the legislature this year faced issues concerning the name-change law. The law has been in place in some form for decades but is rarely used, typically in the context of candidates wishing to use a nickname.
The complications in Ohio began when Republican-controlled state governments nationwide moved to limit trans rights. Last year, the legislatures passed several bills restricting medical care for transgender children, governing pronoun and restroom use in schools, and dictating which sports teams trans athletes can join.
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DeWine Defends Trans Candidates
On Tuesday, Republican governor Mike DeWine said that the law should be amended and county boards should stop disqualifying trans candidates on these grounds. DeWine did not explain how it might be amended.
DeWine told Cleveland.com's editorial board that they should not deny ballot access for that reason. He advised that the law should be fixed.
He recently vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors, but the state house overturned the veto.
Childrey would likely face Republican representative Angie King, who has supported anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and voted in favor of prohibiting gender-affirming care for kids, if she wins the Democratic primary in the general election in November.
Frank LaRose, the Republican secretary of state, stated last week that candidates were responsible for ensuring they complied with Ohio election law. He said he was open to putting the rule on the candidate guide but not changing the legislation.
On Thursday, she said it was "nice to take a deep breath" as she and her team started campaigning. She continued, "Hopefully, people will see that this is a marginalized community in Ohio, and yet we're still standing."
