Ohio board stands by disqualification of transgender candidate, despite others being allowed to run

[Matt Rivers]

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A county board in Ohio has refused to
reconsider the disqualification of a transgender state House
candidate who omitted her former name from circulating petitions,
even as other transgender candidates have been cleared for the
ballot.

The Stark County Board of Elections said in a statement Friday that
it stands by its decision to disqualify Vanessa Joy, a real estate
photographer from Massillon, Ohio, because she did not put a name
that no longer aligns with her gender identity — also referred to as
a deadname — on the petitions used to gather signatures to get on
the ballot. State law mandates that candidates disclose any name
changes from the past five years on their petitions, with exemptions
for changes resulting from marriage.

The law, meant to weed out bad actors, is unknown even to many
elections officials, and it isn’t listed in the 33-page candidate
requirement guide. Additionally, there is no space on the petitions
to list former names.

Joy said she's frustrated by the county board's decision and that,
for now, her campaign is over. However, she said she is working with
an attorney to try to change the law to be more inclusive of
transgender candidates who don't want to disclose their previous
names for personal safety reasons, among others.

"I’m out of the race, but I’m not out of the fight," Joy told The
Associated Press on Monday.

The county board said in its statement that it was “sympathetic to”
Joy’s argument that she shouldn't be disqualified since the campaign
guide did not contain the requirement, but said its decision “must
be based on the law."

All four transgender candidates for the Legislature this year have
run into issues with the name-change law, which has been in place in
some form for decades but is used rarely, usually by candidates
wishing to use a nickname.

Fellow Democratic transgender House candidates Bobbie Arnold of
Preble County and Arienne Childrey of Auglaize County were cleared
to run by their respective boards of elections just last week. But
if Joy does not succeed in changing the law before November and
Childrey or Arnold win, they could technically still be kicked out
of office.

Ari Faber, a Democrat from Athens running for the Ohio state Senate,
has not legally changed his name and so has not had his candidacy
challenged. Faber is running with his deadname on the ballot.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine previously said that the law should be
amended and transgender candidates shouldn't be disqualified on
these grounds.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his team will work
to put the law on the candidate guide. But he said his office is not
open to tweaking the law because public officeholders must be
transparent with voters and are not entitled to such privacy.

https://news.yahoo.com/ohio-board-stands-disqualification-
transgender-205758487.html