Robert Hibner, the president of the Republican Party in CELINA-Mercer County, is requesting that election officials reject the petition of a transgender woman from St. Marys who wants to challenge State Rep. Angie King, R-Celina.
Members of the Mercer County Board of Elections approved Arienne Childrey’s petition next month. Childrey was the only Democrat to submit a bid for the 84th House District seats in Ohio, which includes the entire counties of Mercer, southern Auglaize, and northern Darke.
Childrey is set to face King in a showdown in the general election on November 5 as she won’t face any Democratic challengers after winning the March 19 primary.
Childrey has been known by at least one other name in the past year, but Hibner did not list any additional names on her petition, according to a notice of protest he submitted to the board of elections office on Friday.
A candidate must submit any name changes within the previous five years to be eligible for the ballot, according to a little-known 1990s state law. The law is not currently listed on the website of the Ohio Secretary of State’s candidate requirement guidelines.
In his notice to the board of elections, Hibner cited several passages from the Ohio Revised Code and stated that he “would like to publicly protest and request a rejection of the petition/declaration of nomination as presented by Arienne Childrey.”
The board of elections will soon hold a hearing on the issue, according to Kristi Rable, assistant chairman. Rable responded to the newspaper’s query that Childrey would also be removed from the ballot in other parts of the 84th House District if committee members decided to do so because Mercer County has the highest population.
Next summer, Arienne Childrey speaks to a group at the Mercer County Courthouse.
On Friday night, when contacted by the news, Childrey stated that she had no comment and added she would talk with her counsel and respond accordingly. She said she would appear at the board’s upcoming hearing.
Following the disqualification of a trans woman from an Ohio House race this week due to the omission of her previous name, Hibner’s letter of protest against Childrey is expected to cause concern for similar obstacles for other transgender candidates across the country.
In response to proposed regulations on the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Vanessa Joy was one of four transgender individuals running for state office in Ohio. She was opposing Republican candidate Matthew Kishman in House District 50, a heavily Democratic area in Stark County, Ohio. In 2022, Joy formally changed her name and birth certificate, which she claimed she submitted to the Stark County Board of Elections for the primary election on March 19.
Joy claimed that giving her previous name would be equivalent to using her deadname, which the transgender community uses to refer to the name given at birth rather than one that is consistent with their gender identity.
While Joy asserted that the law’s intent is to eliminate bad actors, transgender people who want to run for office may find it difficult to do so due to various factors, including concern for their safety.
Joy said, “I personally would have because being elected was important to me, so I had to put my deadname on my petitions. However, some people may find it difficult to enter because they do not want their names on the petitions.
“It’s dangerous, and that name is dead,” she continued.
The Stark County Board of Elections and the office of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose did not immediately respond to Thursday’s email requests for comment. Whether this law has been applied to any current or former state legislators is unclear.
Joy filed a lawsuit against her disqualification on Thursday and is currently seeking legal counsel. She plans to make an effort to change Ohio’s laws.
She declared, “We’re going to see this happening everywhere.” “If I’m just the start of it, this could be a snowball. This is terrible news for the transgender community.”
