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.
Where’s the box the name is supposed to be put in then if the law says it is supposed to be on the form?
Probably in the same place other trans candidates found it.
If you’d have read the article, you’d know that the other trans people submitted their petitions without their dead names and they were accepted.