Overview
- Maine’s secretary of state validated 71,033 signatures for the citizen initiative, surpassing the 67,682 threshold and opening a 10‑day window for appeals before the measure goes to the Legislature to enact or refer to the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot.
- The proposal would require schools to designate teams, bathrooms and locker rooms by sex assigned at birth, allow girls to play on boys’ teams if no girls’ team exists, and bar transgender girls from girls’ teams while permitting participation on boys’ or coed teams.
- Colorado officials certified Initiative 109 to require K‑12 and collegiate athletes to compete based on biological sex and Initiative 110 to prohibit certain gender‑related surgeries for minors, alongside a separate anti–child sex trafficking measure.
- Maine’s campaign is led by Protect Girls Sports in Maine and has drawn support from U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and major donor Richard Uihlein, while a coalition including EqualityMaine, GLAD Law and the Maine Women’s Lobby plans a statewide opposition effort.
- The ballot push reflects a broader multi‑state strategy that also includes Washington and Missouri, unfolding as the federal government’s Title IX lawsuit against Maine over athletic policies advances toward trial later this year.