By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman
LANSING – On Jan. 13, the State News reported that Melissa Sue Robinson, a candidate for the special election to fill Virg Bernero's 23rd district state Senate seat, has filed suit to challenge a law that requires her to list the name she had as a man on the ballot along with her current legal name.
Robinson changed her name in 1998, according to the News report. The state law, passed in 1954, requires candidates who have had legal name changes within the past ten years to list their former name in addition to their current name on the ballot.
"I'm thrilled that she is taking on the state for their discriminatory policy," said Sean Kosofsky, policy director for the Triangle Foundation. "It's insulting to her and to other transgender candidates to be forced to list both names."
Jay Kaplan, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberty Union of Michigan's LGBT Project, questioned the legal basis for the challenge. "We don't plan to legally challenge this statute," he said. "It's neutral on its face; it's not singling out transgender people."
Kaplan said that the law is a way to prevent a candidate who has had his or her name changed for fraudulent purposes or to avoid liability for past debts from misleading voters.
"It [the law] could cause confusion for voters and it could negatively impact her election chances," Kaplan said. "But it could present an educational opportunity, too, for voters."
Kaplan said that the only way to change the law would be to persuade legislators to make an exception for transgender candidates.
"This [Robinson's suit] makes the assumption that any time a candidate is identified as transgender, they can't win. Is that the message we want to send?" he asked.
Rachel Crandall, MSW, executive director of TransGender Michigan, had no comment on the suit.
Robinson, a Democrat, is running to fill the seat created by Bernero's successful bid to become Mayor of Lansing. The primary is set for Feb. 21, with the special election to take place on March 14. BTL will have a complete story, along with candidate ratings by the Lansing Association for Human Right's PAC and any endorsements in the race by Michigan Pride PAC, in our Feb. 2 issue.
