PORTLAND, Maine — A ballot measure in Maine designed to restrict transgender students’ participation in athletics has been struck from the November ballot due to insufficient valid signatures, state officials announced Tuesday.
The initiative, backed by the parents’ organization Protect Girls Sports in Maine, sought to have voters decide whether public schools should limit bathroom and sports access based on the gender listed on a student’s birth certificate.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is running for governor as a Democrat, announced Tuesday that her office discovered more than 12,000 signatures on the referendum petition were invalid. This finding left the campaign several hundred signatures below the necessary 67,682 needed to qualify for the ballot, Bellows explained.
The ruling represents a blow to the broader national effort to restrict or prohibit transgender student participation in athletics. Maine became a focal point for this debate last year amid a public dispute between Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is serving her final year due to term limits, and President Donald Trump.
“We take the integrity of the petitions just as seriously as we take the security of voting. It’s really important that anyone seeking to place a initiative on the ballot follow the law,” Bellows said.
The petition organizers have a 10-day window to challenge Bellows’ ruling. Representatives from Protect Girls Sports in Maine did not respond immediately to requests for comment Tuesday, though they indicated last week they would continue efforts to get the measure on the ballot. The organization retains the option to pursue placing the initiative on a future ballot, Bellows noted.
Last week, the secretary of state’s office issued a preliminary recommendation stating the petition “does not meet the constitution threshold” for valid signatures. Leyland Streiff, the principal officer of Protect Girls Sports in Maine, responded with a statement saying the group was “continuing our defense of the Protect Girls Sports ballot measure.”
Currently, at least 19 states have enacted legislation prohibiting transgender girls and women from accessing girls’ and women’s restrooms in public schools, with some extending to other government buildings, private schools, or public spaces. A court has temporarily suspended enforcement of one such law in Montana.
Additionally, at least 30 states have implemented laws or policies aimed at preventing transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s athletics. Legal challenges have blocked some of these measures from taking effect.
None of these bathroom or sports restrictions originated through voter initiatives. Two other Democratic-led states, Colorado and Washington, have sports-related measures appearing on their November ballots.
These limitations on both issues have been enacted within the last five years and have received support from Trump. Following his return to office last year, he ended agreements with school districts designed to protect transgender students and issued an executive order restricting transgender athlete participation in sports.
Those opposing the Maine ballot question expressed support for Bellows’ decision Tuesday. The petition organizers “failed to follow the rules,” stated David Farmer, campaign manager for the Campaign for Free and Fair Schools, which worked against the proposed question.
