Three Ohio House of Representatives candidates who are transgender have sparked debate in Ohio over a little-known law that requires them to reveal their former names. This has led Democratic and Republican lawmakers to introduce competing bills to deal with the situation.
In January, Vanessa Joy, a real estate photographer running for the Ohio House District 50 as a Democrat in a predominantly Republican area, was disqualified from the race by the Stark County Board of Elections. This was due to a state law that mandates candidates to disclose any name changes that occurred within the last five years. Joy, who is transgender and changed her name in 2022, stated that she was not aware of this law, as it was not mentioned in the Ohio secretary of state’s 2024 candidate guide, nor was it included in previous candidate guides in recent years. The candidacy petition forms that Joy filled out also did not include any reference to the law or space to list any name changes. Two other transgender Democrats also faced challenges to their candidacies for Ohio state House seats under the same law. However, both Bobbie Arnold and Arienne Childrey have since been given permission to have their names appear on the November ballot. Last week, Democratic state Reps. Michele Grim and Beryl Brown Piccolantonio
introduced a bill
that would prevent future transgender candidates from being disqualified from running. House Bill 467 would modify the existing law so that candidates would not be required to disclose their recent legal name changes if the name change was approved by an Ohio court. The bill would also require candidate forms to include a section to list previous names used within the last five years and mandate the Ohio secretary of state to include information about the name change requirements in candidate guides. “This is practical legislation that will provide a straightforward solution so that those who choose to run for office can understand the requirements clearly,” Grim told . “This most recent primary cycle highlighted an inconsistently enforced requirement that needs to be clarified.”
At the same time, Republican state Reps. Rodney Creech and Angie King have proposed their own bill, which would allow Republicans to challenge Democratic primary candidates and vice versa. As WEWS notes, current state law only allows voters to challenge the candidacies of members of their own party. WEWSCreech will compete against Arnold in the November election, while King will compete against Childrey — a fact not lost on Arnold and Childrey.
“They happen to be the only two representatives in the state of Ohio who are facing transgender candidates as their Democratic opponents,” Childrey said.
“That is absolutely no coincidence at all in my mind,” Arnold said.
In a statement released by LPAC, an organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates, Childrey questioned whether King’s support of the bill “is related to her failed attempt to have one of her GOP friends remove me from the ballot.
“It seems like she can’t handle facing a trans woman who won’t back down from her bigotry,” Childrey said in her statement.
As reported by WEWS, King expressed her frustration that a challenge to Childrey’s candidacy by the Mercer County Republican Party chair was rejected because current law stops registered Republicans from objecting to Democratic primary candidates.
Creech told WEWS, “I won’t hide anything — I believe they should follow the law to get on the ballot, just like I do. What bothered me was that three transgender candidates in Ohio ran as Democrats and could only be challenged by Democrats.”
King said, “It’s their duty to correctly fill out the form,” even though it’s widely known that candidate forms currently don't have a space to list name changes.
Both Creech and King, who are expected to win in their heavily Republican districts, said they aren't bothered by their opponents being transgender, and presented their bill as a bipartisan effort for accountability and transparency, as per WEWS.
However, Arnold and Childrey accuse their Republican opponents of hypocrisy. According to WEWS, Ohio Republicans have introduced many bills to stop members of one party from voting in the other party’s primary. GOP lawmakers say the measures would prevent Democrats from voting for weaker Republican candidates, which they call “primary meddling.”
“The argument we've heard is ‘we don’t want the opposing party meddling in someone’s primary,’” Childrey explained. “At the same time that Republicans want to champion that, they want the ability to meddle in our primaries.”
LPAC executive director Janelle Perez criticized the Republican bill in a statement, saying, “Transgender candidates face discrimination and disrespect in politics. Using deadnames on petitions and ballots erases their true identity and exposes them to potential harm. It's unacceptable that transgender individuals still experience such dehumanizing treatment. Disregarding fairness and inclusion threatens our democratic values and is deeply troubling. LPAC strongly opposes the Ohio GOP’s repeated attacks on transgender candidates. We must unite against this discrimination and ensure that everyone, regardless of gender identity, has the right to run for office solely based on merit.”
The Republican bill was proposed by two state Representatives who are being challenged by transgender candidates in the upcoming November election.
LPAC executive director Janelle Perez responded to the Republican bill in a statement. “The harsh reality is that transgender candidates are forced to navigate a political landscape filled with discrimination and disregard for their safety and dignity. The insistence on using deadnames on petitions and ballots not only erases their true identity, but also exposes them to potential harm. It is unconscionable that in this day and age, transgender individuals are still being subjected to such dehumanizing treatment. This blatant disregard for the fundamental principles of fairness and inclusion is not only appalling but also a grave threat to our democratic values,” Perez said. “LPAC is deeply troubled by the Ohio GOP’s repeated attacks on transgender candidates seeking to serve their communities. It is imperative that we stand united against these reprehensible acts of discrimination. Every individual, regardless of gender identity, deserves the right to run for office and have their candidacy judged on merit alone.”
