A transgender candidate has been permitted to run for a seat in the Ohio House despite hiding his original name on documents required by state elections law.
The Mercer County Board of Elections chose not to take up a vote on disqualifying transgender Democrat candidate Arienne Childrey, a biological male identifying as female, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Childrey underwent a name change in 2020 but said he would have provided his former name if he had known about the 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.
The Ohio law requires prospective political candidates who have changed their names within the last five years to put their former names on their candidate petitions, except for those who have changed their names due to marriage.
If Childrey wins the Democrat primary, the transgender candidate will likely go on to face Ohio State Rep. Angie King (R-Celina), who has sponsored anti-grooming legislation and voted to ban transgender-related medical procedures being performed on children.
Childrey is one of four transgender candidates vying for a seat in Ohio’s legislature, where they will likely seek to counter anti-grooming legislation enacted by Republicans in the state. All four transgender candidates have reportedly run into issues with the state’s name-change law.
As Breitbart News reported, Vanessa Joy — another biological male identifying as female who is running for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives — recently said he was disqualified from the race for not using the name on his birth certificate.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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