Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s (R) office has changed declaration forms to help prevent transgender candidates from being disqualified for not disclosing their “deadname.”
The change came after Vanessa Joy, a transgender woman, was disqualified from running as a Democratic candidate for Ohio’s House District 50 after failing to list all legal names used within the prior five years on her signature petition, WEWS-TV reported.
Dead names refer to the former names of transgender people.
Despite legally changing her name and providing her updated birth certificate to the county board, a little-known 1990s law blocked her candidacy when her name was changed.
The law requires candidates to list any name changes from the past five years on their signature petitions. Joy expressed frustration about not being informed of this requirement when submitting her petition. According to WEWS, the instructions weren’t on the petition form and the secretary of state’s 2024 candidate guide at the time.