YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Chair of the Mahoning County Democratic Party is questioning the eligibility of a Republican candidate for Ohio State Representative to be on the ballot in November.

Mahoning County Democratic Party Chair Chris Anderson tells 21 News he filed a protest against Republican 58th District Representative candidate Tex Fischer (pictured above) accusing him of improperly filing for candidacy.

Anderson says when Fischer filed for candidacy, he did not lawfully disclose his legal name change as required by law. Anderson added that this requirement has been in place since 1995.

"The way that the law is written, anyone seeking public office must disclose any legal name changes within the last five years. [Fischer] simply didn't do it," Anderson said.

According to the protest, Fischer legally changed his name four years ago in 2020.

Anderson went on to say three candidates have already been removed from the ballot in 2024 alone due to violations of this law noting that all three were members of the LGBT community.

Anderson says he hopes the Mahoning County Board of Elections applies those same standards in this case. The Board of Elections will hold a meeting discussing this matter on Thursday, August 15 at 8:30 a.m.

You can read the entire protest for yourself in the PDF below.

Anderson also provided 21 News with the following statement:

 “This law was passed when I was six years old - I only know about it from this year’s use. I’m not a lawyer nor am I an elections official. I filed the protest as a resident of the district because to me it only feels fair that the law be applied equally."

"It’s not fair to LGBT candidates and the other folks who have been kicked off of the ballot to then let Mr. Fischer have special treatment. The fact is he changed his name and I do not believe he properly disclosed it in my laymen’s reading of the law. It will be up to the board of elections to decide whether they agree or not.”

When asked for comment, Fischer released his own statement to 21 News accusing the Mahoning County Democratic Party of trying to "cancel an election on a technicality and deprive the voters of their voice on who represents them in Columbus."

Fischer went on to compare this to recent efforts to take former president Donald Trump off the ballot for the November 2024 Presidential Election.

Fischer's full statement can be read below.

"The Mahoning County Democrats want to cancel an election on a technicality and deprive the voters of their voice on who represents them in Columbus. It's fundamentally undemocratic and reeks of desperation."

"I have faith in the people at the Board of Elections and the Secretary of State's office to see through this childish political stunt so we can move forward to November."

"This is clearly the new playbook of the Democratic Party: Throw everyone they don't like off the ballot. They tried and failed already with President Trump."