For the second time, a pair of Republican lawmakers have proposed legislation that could force trans candidates to disclose their former legal names in order to run for public office.
Conservative Republican Reps. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) and Angie King (R-Celina) – who both self-identify as Christians – first proposed the legislation last spring, after each faced transgender opponents in the 2024 general election.
After passing in the House, the bill’s language was rolled into Senate Bill 71, where it died in December at the final moments of the 135th General Assembly.
All Ohioans are already required to list any legal name changes that occurred within the last five years on their petitions for candidacy, but Ohio House Bill (HB) 196 would add a space for candidates to include former legal names on their petitions for candidacy – further codifying the requirement.
The bill would also allow voters registered under any political party to challenge the legitimacy of a candidate on the premise they fail to publicly list their former legal names. The current law only allows registered voters of a candidate’s political party to challenge an individual’s candidacy.
Because the Ohio Revised Code already includes an exemption for married women, HB 196 could be used to target transgender candidates who have changed their names outside of marriage – challenging their legitimacy based on the suspected existence of former legal names and potentially outing them as transgender.
Challenging transgender candidates
Transgender Ohio House candidate Arienne Childrey was cleared to run against King last year after the legitimacy of her candidacy was challenged based on the suspected existence of a former legal name. Childrey lost the race to represent District 84, but was later appointed to the St. Marys City Council, making her the first out transgender city councilmember in the state.
Creech’s opponent, Bobbie Arnold, who is also transgender, was cleared to appear on the ballot by the Montgomery County Board of Elections, but lost the race to Creech.
A third transgender candidate – 42-year-old Vanessa Joy – was disqualified from running in the 2024 general election after failing to list her former legal name, often called a “deadname,” on her petition for candidacy.
An effort by Ohio House Democrats to exempt candidates – including transgender candidates – who have legally changed their name did not make it out of committee hearings.
‘Political stunts’
“They pushed this bill last year because my opponent was angry that her own Republican county party chair failed to remove me from the ballot,” Childrey said about HB 196. “Now, they’re reintroducing it in an even more pointless attempt at political retribution.”
Despite the bill’s implications for transgender candidates, Childrey said she has yet to rule out another run to represent the 84th District.
“By the time I pick up my campaign paperwork, my legal name change will be well beyond the five-year mark,” Childrey told The Buckeye Flame. “This bill won’t even apply. But the Ohio GOP thrives on vengeance politics, wasting taxpayer dollars on empty attacks instead of addressing the real issues facing Ohioans.”
“Instead of wasting time on political stunts, Rep. King and the Ohio GOP could focus on real issues — like fully funding our public schools,” Childrey added.
The Buckeye Flame contacted Rep. King via her official email address on Monday, March 31, and received acknowledgement of our request for comment. However, King had not responded to specific questions at the time of print.
King – who has a documented history of using anti-LGBTQ+ language consistent with Christian nationalism and appeared alongside a neo-Nazi group while protesting a Pride event in Celina, Ohio – accused transgender candidates of lying about their legal identities during an April 2024 episode of “The Windsor Report,” a politically conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ talk-radio show hosted by Jack Windsor.
“For a group that wants to talk about inclusion, they don’t want equality,” King said. “They don’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else. What they really want is special rights or exemptions to circumvent the law.”
Republican advocates for reform
After narrowly avoiding disqualification under the same Ohio name-change law already used to target several transgender candidates earlier this year, Republican State Rep. Tex Fischer said he is interested in reforming the statute.
Fischer – who is not transgender – legally changed his name from “Austin James Fischer” to “Austin James Texford Fischer” in 2020. His candidacy was then unsuccessfully challenged by a Mahoning County Democratic Party official.
“I do believe the law regarding name changes is in need of reform. I think disqualification for something that minor is unfair and does not serve the interests of the public,” he told The Buckeye Flame last year, noting that he would like to meet with candidates affected by the bill to discuss reform efforts during the next congressional session.
“I also don’t think it should be necessary to publish someone’s deadname on the ballot,” Fischer added. “My situation is obviously different. Someone like Vanessa Joy or Arienne Childrey’s name change has a lot more meaning to them, and I don’t think publishing a former name really does the voters any good and only causes the candidate grief.”
This week, Fischer said his views haven’t changed.
“It is still my intention to introduce legislation later on this GA to remove the deadnaming requirement,” Fischer told The Buckeye Flame. “I don’t have any issues really with HB 196, but I don’t think it addresses the issue I am looking to solve. I am glad the issue with the form not having the appropriate space for name change information because it makes it less likely for someone to violate the law innocently and be disqualified.”
“We can protect voters from bad actors who may change their names, without disenfranchising people who aren’t trying to hide anything,” he added.
“I think the spirit of the original law makes sense, which is to ensure people aren’t changing their name for political purposes or trying to hide things from the voters,” Fischer said. “But I don’t think the situations we are dealing with today are in violation of the spirit of that law, and it should be changed.”
Ignite Action
- The Buckeye Flame’s Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025 can be found here.
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio senator, click here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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