Trans Dem Allowed to Run For State Office Despite Hiding Name

(ConservativeInsider.org) – A transgender candidate has been cleared to run for a position in the Ohio House of Representatives despite not disclosing his pre-transition name, which is required by state election law in Ohio.

Arienne Childrey, who was born a biological male but now “identifies” as female, is running as a Democratic candidate for the Ohio House. Though Ohio law requires potential political candidates to provide their previous names on candidate petitions if they changed it within five years prior to the election, with exceptions granted for those who changed their names due to marriage. Childrey changed his name in 2020, which means under state law, he should have provided his previous name on his petition. However, despite this violation, the Mercer County Board of Elections has decided against voting to disqualify Childrey, thus allowing him to continue running.

Childrey claims the reason why he did not include the name he was given at birth was due to ignorance of the law, saying that even though including his birth name would have been “a hit to my pride,” he feels the election is worth more than his pride. According to media reports, the law requiring name changes within the last five years be included on their petition is not listed on the candidate requirement guide, which is 33 pages long.

This is the fourth transgender candidate in Ohio to run afoul of the name change law during this election cycle. Vanessa Joy, another transgender candidate for the Ohio House, was disqualified from the race due to not including his birth name, which he changed in 2022. Ari Faber, a female-to-male candidate for State Senate from Athens, was allowed to continue running in the election but must use her birth name, as she has not legally changed it yet. Bobbie Arnold, another male-to-female transgender candidate, was also allowed to continue running despite not including his previous name on his application. All four of the transgender candidates in Ohio are running as Democrats.