An obscure and rarely cited Ohio law is being used to keep transgender candidates off the ballot. The law requires candidates to list on their ballot petitions any name change in the last five years. Name changes due to marriage are excluded by the law.

Rules that accompany ballot petitions don’t mention the requirement, so most candidates don’t know about the law.

So far, two candidates — Vanessa Joy and Arienne Childrey — have been removed from the ballot. Both had legal name changes within the last five years and both said if they knew about the law, they would have listed their dead names. Both said they were being unfairly targeted because they are transgender.

Election officials wouldn’t allow them to add their dead names to their election petitions. Both said they plan to run for office in the future.

Three other transgender people have filed to run for office in Ohio. It’s unclear when they filed their name changes.

— David Taffet