Overview
- The decision was announced Tuesday, May 26, 2026, after the Secretary of State’s office reviewed 8,067 petition sheets and concluded the campaign fell short of the required number of valid signatures.
- Bellows’ office counted 67,150 valid signatures and invalidated 12,542, leaving the petition 532 signatures shy of the statutory threshold to qualify for the November ballot.
- Testimony and photographic affidavits presented at a May hearing said several out‑of‑state paid circulators left petition sheets unattended and failed to follow Maine’s witnessing rules, which led officials to reject large blocks of signatures.
- Protect Girls Sports in Maine has 10 days to appeal to Superior Court where a judge can uphold the decision, remand it for further review, or order the measure placed on the ballot, and the Secretary of State will publish ballot wording if the court restores the question.
- The initiative would have required schools to align team membership and access to bathrooms and locker rooms with the sex on a student’s birth certificate, a policy that would directly affect transgender students and that sits within a broader national push and split public opinion on such measures.