Another trans candidate in Ohio faces disqualification vote for omitting deadname

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A second transgender candidate running for the majority Republican Ohio House could be disqualified from the ballot after omitting her former name on circulating petitions. The Mercer County Board of Elections will vote Thursday on whether Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize County, is eligible to run after not disclosing her deadname on her petition paperwork. Childrey is one of four transgender candidates in the state. A little-known Ohio elections law mandates that candidates disclose any name changes in the last five years on their petition paperwork, with exemptions for name changes due to marriage. But the law isn’t listed in the 33-page candidate requirement guide and is not known even to many elections officials.