Ohio Republican cleared to run, open to reforming name-change law used to target transgender candidates

After narrowly avoiding disqualification under the same Ohio name-change law used to target several transgender candidates earlier this year, Republican State Rep. Tex Fischer said he is interested in reforming the statute.

“I do feel for the other candidates who dealt with this issue,” Fischer (R-Boardman) told The Buckeye Flame. “I don’t think any of them ever intended to deceive anyone and simply wished to participate in the process and be true to themselves.”

Fischer – who is not transgender – legally changed his name from “Austin James Fischer” to “Austin James Texford Fischer” in 2020.

In June, the former political consultant was appointed to represent Ohio’s 58th District, filling a vacant seat left by Republican Al Cutrona, who joined the Ohio Senate. 

Within weeks, a Mahoning County Democratic Party official challenged Fischer’s candidacy based on a Ohio Revised Code 3513.271, which requires candidates to disclose any legal name change that occurred within the last five years.

Earlier this year, conservative Republicans used the same statute to target three separate transgender candidates, disqualifying one. Fischer, however, was not required to disclose his former name, and was cleared to appear on the Novemberballot by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose – the result of an apparent loophole in the certification process.

Now, Fischer said he’s both grateful to see the complaint resolved and interested in working with transgender candidates to help reform the law.

“If someone wants to run for office, they should be allowed to,” he told The Buckeye Flame. “The voters can elect or reject them based on their own merits and their platforms, rather than technicalities that candidates are rarely aware of.”

Targeting transgender candidates

In Ohio, three transgender candidates were challenged directly earlier this year regarding the disclosure of their former legal names – sometimes called “deadnames” in relation to transgender people.

While Ohio House candidates Arienne Childrey and Bobbie Brooke Arnold are set to appear on the November ballot, they could be forced to vacate their seats in the event that they win in violation of state election statutes.

A third transgender candidate, Vanessa Joy, was disqualified entirely from appearing on the ballot in Stark County after failing to list her former legal name on her petition for candidacy.

Name-change loophole

Aside from an explicit exception in the law that allows married women to omit their maiden names, Ohio Revised Code 3513.271 requires candidates to list any legal name changes that occurred within the last five years via both their statements of candidacy and their nominating petitions – neither of which Fischer was required to submit.

“I have been consistent from the outset and I have never asked for an exception to the law,” Fischer told The Buckeye Flame. “I believed from day one that my situation was unique given that I was an appointment.”

Because Fischer was selected to fill a vacancy by members of the Republican Party and not directly elected, committee members used a separate form to certify his candidacy: Form 289 (Certification of Selection of Candidate to Fill Vacancy in Party Nomination to the Mahoning County BOE).

On Sept. 6, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose broke a tie vote among Mahoning County Board of Elections members, allowing Fischer to appear on the ballot.

“Despite arguments to the contrary, the statute does not extend the requirement of listing a person’s former name to the party’s selection committee’s Form 289 certification,” LaRose said in an official statement accompanying the decision.

Focus on reform

Originally, the statute was created to prevent candidates from abusing a name change in order to deceive voters.

Fischer said he still supports those protections, but called disqualification an “overly harsh penalty.”

On Sept. 6, Fischer called the challenge to his candidacy “a petty and blatantly partisan stunt,” via an official public statement posted to his social media accounts.

Several weeks later, Fischer told The Buckeye Flame he is now interested in working to reform the statute should he retain his seat in the 2024 general election.

“I do believe the law regarding name changes is in need of reform,” he said. “I think disqualification for something that minor is unfair and does not serve the interests of the public.”

“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.”

Transgender candidate voices support

In a written statement, Childrey called recent challenges against her candidacy “clearly motivated by partisanship” and “aimed at disenfranchising voices that stand for equality.”

“While Rep. Fischer and I likely hold differing views on many policy matters, it’s clear that this provision is outdated and needs reform,” Childrey said. “Candidates should be able to compete based on their ideas and policies, not be disqualified by selectively enforced rules that no longer serve the interests of Ohio voters.”

Childrey publicly advocated for Fischer’s inclusion on the ballot, but expressed concern around selective enforcement of the law, calling the Secretary of State’s decision a “double standard.”

“[The decision] reveals a clear pattern of bias within the Ohio GOP’s handling of election laws,” she said in a separate statement on Sept 7.

Fischer told The Buckeye Flame that he had not previously seen Childrey’s statement, but that he is grateful for her support:

“I would be happy to meet with any of the candidates who were impacted by this law when the time comes to work on legislation to address this next year.”