A transgender candidate for the Ohio House has been disqualified because she only circulated petitions with her legal name, instead of her former name — and it has put multiple other LGBTQ+ candidates in flux.
Ohio actually has a law that says if you legally change your name within the last 5 years, it has to be on the petition. In the article it mentions that there is no place for a previous name (dead name in this instance) on the petition, and the Secretary of State’s candidate guide doesn’t mention this requirement at all.
Apparently other trans candidates had their petitions accepted with no problem.
Not only is there nowhere to put it on the petition, but it isn’t included in the secretary of state’s 2024 candidate guide. It hasn’t been on any candidate guides in recent years.
WEWS/OCJ reached out to the office with numerous clarifying questions, like why the name change isn’t included in the 33-page guide, but did not hear back.
So. They couldn't find anyone else that had to do it, even other candidates who transitioned...
The form doesn't even have a place for it...
And the 33 page guide doesn't mention it...
So why is it an issue here?
I feel like this part is the real reason:
Joy is also the stepdaughter of state Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), but the two do not have a relationship and have never met. Although the Republican hasn’t sponsored or cosponsored legislation impacting the trans community, he has voted in favor of legislation banning trans youth from having gender-affirming care and participating in athletics. He is one of the Republicans she wants to fight back against.
You are a liar saying only this one person is targeted. There is no one else that has done this without including both names.
Any person who has been elected under the person's changed name, without submission of the person's former name, shall be immediately suspended from the office and the office declared vacated, and shall be liable to the state for any salary the person has received while holding such office.
Let me know who, because they will owe Ohio taxpayers quite a sum.
At least two of the other trans candidates running also didn’t know the law, and didn’t include their dead names, but both were certified by their boards
Seeing how you immediately suspect someone of lying rather than simply misunderstanding something speaks volumes to the the objective fact that you are a moron.
The anger in your response and the fact that you feel the need to literally insult someone indicates that you feel very insecure on this subject and don't have arguments to back up your position.
I hope she does appeal this. Considering it is selectively enforced it looks very descriminatory. Especially with Ohio being so very anti-trans right now.
It's a lie. It's not selectively enforced. Anybody elected without petition including name changes in last 5 years will be thrown out of office.
You cannot appeal this, the law is very plain.
It's possible other legal name change candidates did slip by unnoticed with their petitions including only one name, but they will be removed from office if elected.
I feel like @derphurr has pretty strong opinions on this for whatever reason. I’m on my phone during my lunch break, so I’m not gonna look into the matter to decide if they’re right. But the emotional responses make me pause and question whether they’re (the responses) rational. It’s a troubling vibe.
What escapes dickwads like derphurr is that the law is not the same as justice. People aren't arguing that the law doesn't require the disclosure. They are arguing that this case is different because it's a person who transitioned and that being required to out oneself as trans in order to run for office is a very different requirement than being forced to reveal your old name. The law is not just, and of course it was written without any consideration of trans people - much like the 2nd amendment was written without the remotest concept of what a single person can do to an elementary school with an AR-15. It's perfectly possible to argue that the law should be enforced until it is changed while acknowledging that it's unfair. But that would require empathy. And not being an asshole.
I have that person blocked now because...JFC...but directly from the article:
At least two of the other trans candidates running also didn’t know the law, and didn’t include their dead names, but both were certified by their boards.
It didn't post any opinions. I posted links to the law and Ohio SoS website that describes how you include two names. And I stated it's not selective, because even if other candidates didn't include two names, if elected they will be removed from office.
The fact that you begin almost every post by aggressively calling people liars is half of your problem. You're not simply correcting a misconception or misunderstanding, you're also being a massive dick for no reason. You lost any claim to impartiality when you started. Fucking. Posting. Like. This.
So yeah, you absolutely come across as someone with an agenda.
Even if you're not 'stating opinions' you seem to feel strongly about this. I think the law should be interpreted reasonably and In this case I think it's fairly obvious there wasn't any attempt to deceive anyone, the paperwork just wasn't very clear on the requirements. It's also a very simple problem to solve.
You appear to want to uphold the law in this particular instance, though, which is what makes you come off as a transphobe. Just trying to explain the negative reactions you're (rightfully) getting if you are genuinely confused.
Note: Any former names that have been declared or submitted in accordance with R.C. 3513.06 or
R.C. 3513.271 shall be printed on the ballot in parenthesis directly below the present name of such
person. (R.C. 3505.02) For example:
Frank J. Thomas
(John Francis Thomason)
A candidate's nickname may be printed on the ballot if the nickname is a natural derivative of the candidate's legal name.
Nimrata Nikki Haley
She can use married name. It's not clear if Ohio should allow her to use middle name because Nikki is not nickname for first name.
There is an exception that says the law doesn’t apply to marriage name changes, but since it isn’t well-known, WEWS/OCJ checked with dozens of lawmakers anyway. WEWS/OCJ asked married lawmakers if they had any issues when they changed their names, but all had been married for longer than five years.
Leaving out the policy in the instructions is bullshit, but the article mentions the exception for marriage changes.
edit: this is answering a question OP originally had on the post
Thank God they've prevented her running. Imagine if she'd won!
It would have caused rampant inflation, fundamentally undermined democracy, accelerated the timeline of the climate apocalypse, increased school shootings, made health insurance prohibitively expensive, made the US have a poorly performing healthcare system despite outspending other developed countries up to 4 times, caused rampant immigration, and cost tens of thousands of jobs.
Anyone can run, they just need to include both names if you legally changed name in last 5 years. It's probably past the deadline for petitions like primary though.