Ohio actually has a law that says if you legally change your name within the last 5 years, it has to be on the petition. In the article it mentions that there is no place for a previous name (dead name in this instance) on the petition, and the Secretary of State’s candidate guide doesn’t mention this requirement at all.
Apparently other trans candidates had their petitions accepted with no problem.
Well, you stated it, end of discussion!
Except wait, no.
The other candidates were certified. This candidate was not. That is selective. I have stated it.
There is a difference between selective enforcement and incomplete enforcement. The drunk police officer not being asked to do a breathalyzer test after an accident causing death is selective enforcement. Uncle Bob driving home drunk without incident not being arrested is incomplete enforcement.
I don’t claim to know the intent or knowledge of the people who did and didn’t enforce this requirement, and I can see where this would be more troubling for a trans person than it would be for some unfortunate soul whose parents decided to name their child Daisy Duke after the show was aired, but this situation brings a number of things to light.
This requirement isn’t completely unreasonable, though. It would be reasonable to have a requirement like this so people can’t hide their notoriety in what is to some degree a popularity contest. And if the previous name is posted on ballots, this would mean the voting information would be different had the forms been filled out correctly (I don’t know if this is a requirement in Ohio, and I can’t be bothered to find out for a place where I don’t expect I’ll ever have a right to vote). If she was barred from running again because of this, this would be particularly egregious, and could also give an advantage to candidates with deeper pockets.