Barriers to Ohio trans people running for office

Jude Ellison S. Doyle posts today on Bluesky:

"Over at Xtra: I interviewed Vanessa Joy, the Ohio woman who was kicked off the ballot for not deadnaming herself, and asked how 'free' trans candidates really are to run for office in this system" [post 1]

"The details of this get more infuriating the more you look at it. For one thing, they only know her name change because she *told them about it* when dropping off her petition. For another, her entire life has been torn apart by local & right-wing press." [post 2]

Here's the Xtra article: "Archaic electoral system disadvantages trans candidates: ANALYSIS: Ohio trans candidate Vanessa Joy’s disqualification is part of a larger systemic problem"

Previously, on January 4, Erin Reed reported:

"In Ohio, a transgender candidate was removed from the ballot for not including her previous name under a seldom-used, decades-old law. Vanessa Joy was informed on Wednesday that, despite collecting enough signatures to run, her petition to run for office was denied by the Stark County Election Commission according to news first reported by local journalist Morgan Trau of Ohio. The law requires any candidate running for office to include name changes on their petition if the name change occurred within the last five years. At least two other transgender candidates could be impacted by this law, which seems to have been selectively enforced against Joy.

... This requirement is waived for many reasons, including name changes due to marriage. There is no such exception for transgender people."

— "Transgender Candidate Removed From Ballot In Ohio Over Decades Old Name Change Law. In Ohio, a transgender candidate has been removed from the ballot after not including her deadname. Erin Reed (Substack), January 4, 2024.

And then: Second transgender woman’s candidacy for Ohio House is challenged: The challenge to Arienne Childrey’s candidacy comes a week after another trans woman, Vanessa Joy, was disqualified from running for not disclosing her birth name. Matt Lavietes. NBC News. Jan. 9, 2024.

Trans candidates face challenges to get on Ohio ballots over ‘deadnames’ A decades-old, rarely enforced law has left one candidate disqualified and two others facing reviews in their runs for seats in the state House. Anumita Kaur. January 22, 2024

Furthermore, Gillian Branstetter notes on Bluesky, "Last year, two trans state reps--Mauree Turner in OK and Zooey Zephyr in MT--were censured for speaking against anti-trans bills. All of this comes as Sarah McBride is likely to join the US House next year".

Ohio transgender candidates’: GOP opponents pitch cross-party attempts to disqualify office seekers, Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland.com, April 3, 2024