Transgender candidate facing disqualification now cleared to run despite omitting deadname

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A transgender candidate vying for a seat in the Republican-majority Ohio House is now cleared to run after her certification was called into question for omitting her former name on circulating petitions. Thursday, the Mercer County Board of Elections has chosen not to disqualify that Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize County, after she did not disclose 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.