Vanessa Joy, a 50-year-old Democrat, had aspirations to run for the Ohio House District 50 seat.
She had successfully gathered the necessary signatures to qualify for the race. However, she recently discovered that she would not be on the ballot due to a law in Ohio that mandates candidates for public office to disclose any name changes they have undergone in the past five years.
The law, enacted in 1995, stipulates that if a person seeking to become a candidate for public office has had a name change within the five years immediately preceding the filing of their statement of candidacy, both their statement of candidacy and nominating petition must include their former names, immediately following their current name. There are several exceptions to this rule, such as for candidates who have changed their names due to marriage. However, being transgender does not fall under these exceptions.
According to News 5, there are at least four individuals who identify as transgender and are running for state representative positions in Ohio. The report further states, "At least two of the other trans candidates running also didnt know the law, and didnt include their dead names, but both were certified by their boards.
Joy, who is also the stepdaughter of state Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield), has no relationship with him and they have never met. Despite Roemer not sponsoring or co-sponsoring any legislation impacting the trans community, he has voted in favor of legislation that bans trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care and participating in athletics. Joy aims to challenge such Republicans.
Joy expressed her disappointment, stating, I would have had to have my dead name on my petitions. But in the trans community, our dead names are dead; theres a reason its dead that is a dead person who is gone and buried. The term "dead names" is used within the transgender community to refer to their birth names after they have been legally changed.
Atiba Ellis, an elections law professor at Case Western Reserve University, told the local station, It would be fair for the candidate to disclose their identity including prior names so that the people and their representatives in the state government would be able to vet that person and know exactly who they are.
Joy has voiced her concerns about the lack of awareness of this law, stating that it was not included in the candidate handbook. Something that is that important should have been on the instructions, she said. It should have been on the petition.
Joy is also questioning whether the law is being selectively enforced to target her. Ellis added, If it is selectively enforced, that raises the question of whether the use of such provisions would be discriminatory.
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