Ohio trans candidate threatened with disqualification cleared to run in house race

Mercer board of elections will not vote on disqualifying Arienne Childrey for a law requiring past names on petition paperwork

A transgender candidate vying for a seat in the Republican-majority Ohio house was cleared to run on Thursday after her certification had been called into question for omitting her former name on qualifying petitions as required by a little-used state elections law.

The Mercer county board of elections chose not to take up a vote on disqualifying Arienne Childrey, a Democrat from Auglaize county who is one of four trans individuals campaigning for the legislature, for not disclosing her previous name on petition paperwork.