Trans Ohio House candidate facing disqualification now cleared to run

Watch a previous NBC4 report on former Ohio candidate Vanessa Joy in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A transgender candidate running for a seat in Ohio's House of Representatives has been cleared to campaign after her certification was called into question for omitting her former legal name.

The Mercer County Board of Elections chose not to take up a vote on Jan. 18 disqualifying Democrat Arienne Childrey for not including her former name on petition paperwork. Childrey changed her name in 2020 and told the Associated Press she would have provided her deadname, the name a trans person was assigned at birth but does not align with their gender identity, had she known it is required by Ohio law.

"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.

Ohio's revised code requires Statehouse candidates who change their name within five years to circulate petitions with their current and former names. The law does not apply to a change of name by marriage, or to a candidate who has once complied with the law and has previously been elected.

The board had received a protest to Childrey's certification from the county's Republican Party Chairman Robert Hibner. However, because the ballot is for the March primary, the board said Hilber's protest is invalid because he is from the opposing political party.

Childrey is one of four trans Statehouse candidates who have run into issues with the name-change law. Vanessa Joy, a Stark County Democrat, was disqualified from running in House District 50 against Republican candidate Matthew Kishman. While Joy appealed her disqualification, the board of elections voted to keep her off the ballot.

While Joy told NBC4 she agrees with "the spirit of the law" and understands how it would prevent bad actors from running for office, she said the measure creates a barrier for trans people who want to campaign and may not want to share their deadname.

"Our dead names are just that -- they’re dead," she said. "They’re things that are gone and buried. It’s like somebody bringing up your kid that has been killed in a horrible violent way and talking about it all the time."

Bobbie Arnold, a West Alexandria Democrat, also had her possible disqualification dismissed Jan. 16 by the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Ari Faber, an Athens County Democrat, is cleared to run for an Ohio Senate seat but must use his deadname since he has not legally changed it.

Gov. Mike DeWine said on Jan. 16 that the law should be amended and county boards should stop disqualifying trans candidates on these grounds. DeWine did not say how it might be amended.

"We shouldn’t be denying ballot access for that reason," the governor told Cleveland.com’s editorial board. "It certainly should be fixed."

If Childrey wins the primary, she will likely face Rep. Angie King (R-Celina), who advocates for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation like House Bill 68, a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors and trans athletes' participation in women's sports. While DeWine vetoed H.B. 68 in late December, the House voted to reverse his decision earlier this month, and the Senate is expected to follow suit on Wednesday.

Ohio legislators have progressed three other anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the past year. House Bill 245 was introduced to ban "adult cabaret performances," defined as a show "harmful to juveniles" that features "entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performers’ or entertainers’ gender assigned at birth."

House Bill 183 would prohibit schools from allowing trans students to use a bathroom that doesn't correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. House Bill 8 -- the "Parents' Bill of Rights" -- would require teachers to notify parents before teaching "sexuality content" and of any change in a student's mental, emotional or physical health.