A county board in Ohio has refused to reconsider the disqualification of a transgender state House candidate who omitted her former name from circulating petitions, even as other transgender candidates have been cleared for the ballot. The Stark County Board of Elections said in a statement Friday that it stands by its decision to disqualify Vanessa Joy, a real estate photographer from Massillon, Ohio, because she did not put a name that no longer aligns with her gender identity — also referred to as a deadname — on the petitions used to gather signatures to get on the ballot. State law mandates that candidates disclose any name changes from the past five years on their petitions, with exemptions for changes resulting from marriage.
Tony Dejak/AP
Voters fill out their ballot during early voting at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
Posted at 6:29 AM, Jun 01, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-01 11:10:44-04
COLUMBUS, Ohio â
The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled last week that Stark County must purchase voting machines from a company baselessly accused by the former president and his allies of rigging an election.
The dispute traces back to the Stark County Board of Electionsâ December 2020 directive to the county commission to purchase its new machinery from Dominion Voting Systems.
Conspiracy theories hang over a Trump-loving county s plans to buy Dominion voting machines
Hannah Knowles, The Washington Post
Feb. 8, 2021
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The Stark County Board of Elections in Ohio voted late last year to purchase new Dominion voting machines.Stark County Board of Elections
Late last year, amid rampant conspiracy theories of a stolen presidential election, officials in a Trump-loving county in Ohio took a stand: They voted 4-0 to buy Dominion voting machines.
It was a good deal for the county, years in the making, says Board of Elections Director Jeff Matthews, who heads the Stark County GOP as well. It was also a step into a firestorm - Donald Trump s supporters were falsely accusing Dominion Voting Systems of helping to rig the 2020 vote.