COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A transgender woman was barred from running for the Ohio House despite receiving enough signatures to be on the ballot because she omitted her first name. This raises concerns that other trans women may experience similar obstacles across the country.
In Ohio, four transgender people ran for state office, including Vanessa Joy, largely in response to presented limitations on LGBTQ+ people’s rights. She was opposing GOP member Matthew Kishman in House District 50, a heavily Democratic district in Stark County, Ohio. For the March 19 primary election, Joy claims to have given the Stark County Board of Elections her new name and birth certificate in 2022.
However, Joy learned on Tuesday that a candidate must submit any name changes within the previous five years in order to be eligible for the vote, according to an obscure 1990s state law. Joy was unaware that the rules existed because they are not mentioned in the candidate requirement guidelines on the website of the Ohio Secretary of State.
Joy claimed that giving her previous name would be equivalent to using her deadname, a term 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 nature is to weed out bad actors, it also imposes a barrier on transgender people who want to run for office but may be reluctant to share their last name for significant reasons, such as worry for their own safety.
Joy remarked, “I personally would have done so if I had known that I needed to sign my petitions with my deadname because I valued being elected.” However, some people may find it difficult to enter because they do not want their names on the petitions.
“It’s a risk, and that title is useless,” she continued.
The Stark County Board of Elections and the office of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose did not respond right away to letters Thursday requesting comment. It is unclear whether this law has applied to any current or former state legislators.
According to Rick Hasen, a professor at UCLA School of Law and an election expert, mandating that individuals share any name changes causes issues in Ohio but usually accomplishes the desired result. Hasen wrote in an email, “Disclosing a candidate’s former names used would make sense if they have something to hide in their past, such as criminal activity.”
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund’s vice president of social programs, Sean Meloy, stated that he is unaware of any monitoring efforts to determine how many states require name changes in petition documents.
The careful enforcement of it is the biggest problem, Meloy said in an interview on Thursday.
Some states have increased their restrictions on transgender individuals over the past few years, including preventing minors from receiving gender-affirming services like hormones and puberty blockers. This has led to restrictions on which school restrooms trans kids and students can use and which sports teams they can join in some states.
A record number of transgender individuals were sought out and elected last year, according to Meloy, and he anticipates that trend will continue in 2024.
The Republican governor of Ohio overrode restrictions that Ohio lawmakers passed late last year, but several Republican state representatives claim they intend to do so as soon as next year.
Some liberals, according to Meloy, are attempting to muffle trans voices.
He made reference to Zooey Zephyr, a trans senator who was barred from speaking on Montana’s House floor last year after refusing to offer an apology for telling colleagues who supported the ban on gender-affirming care that they would have blood on their hands.
This seems like a carefully enforced action to try to stop other transgender people from doing that, Meloy said, adding that anti-trans legislation is being moved forward more.
Joy is currently looking for legal representation after appealing her dismissal on Thursday. She intends to make an effort to alter Ohio’s laws.
She declared, “We’re going to see this occurring everywhere. If I’m just the beginning, this could turn into a snowball. This is terrible news for the transgender community.”
Reported by Mulvihill from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Samantha Hendrickson, a corps member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report. Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported stories.
