Maine Official Blocks Trans Ballot Measure, Preps Appeal Wording
Maine's Secretary of State blocked a ballot initiative requiring schools to restrict sports and facilities by biological sex after finding it fell 532 signatures short of the threshold.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows invalidated the proposed measure on May 26 after accepting a staff recommendation that found supporters had gathered 67,150 valid signatures, according to Breitbart News. The state requires 67,682 verified signatures for a measure to qualify for the ballot.
Election officials deemed 12,542 signatures invalid from the petition forms submitted to the state. The decision stands as final unless overturned through a successful legal appeal.
Measure Would Have Reversed Gender Identity Protections
The citizen initiative, championed by Protect Girls Sports in Maine and formally titled “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex,” sought to establish biological sex as the determining factor for access to school athletics and private spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
Had it qualified, voters would have seen the question on the November 3 ballot worded as follows: “Do you want to change civil rights and education laws to require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms, other private spaces, and sports, based on the sex on every child’s original birth certificate, and allow students to sue the schools?”
The proposal directly challenges Maine’s current Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on so-called gender identity. Under the proposed measure, school sports teams and facilities would be required to operate according to biological sex categories rather than self-identified gender.
Final Wording Issued Despite Rejection
In an unusual procedural step, Bellows’ office finalized the ballot language for the measure even after rejecting it, as Breitbart News reports. Officials said this was done in the event a court reverses the secretary of state’s ruling on appeal.
Protect Girls Sports in Maine has publicly disputed Bellows’ decision and confirmed it is pursuing judicial review of the signature validation process.
The legal challenge sets up a potential court battle over whether Maine voters will have the opportunity to weigh in on whether biological males who identify as transgender should be permitted to compete in female sports or access female-only facilities in public schools.
With information from Breitbart News
