The Maine State Legislature adjourned on April 14, 2026, without a vote on the initiated measure that would require that public school sports teams designated for girls or boys be limited to students of the corresponding sex. Mainers will vote on the initiative on Nov. 3, 2026.
Effect of the measure
Under the measure, public schools would be required to designate athletic teams as male, female, or coeducational. Students would be permitted to participate on a sports team that is designated for the sex on their original birth certificate. However, girls would be allowed to participate on male-designated teams when no female-designated team is available for that sport.
The ballot initiative would also require public schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms, and other private spaces for each sex.
The ballot initiative would allow students who are denied athletic opportunities or suffer direct injuries due to violations of the initiative to bring a civil action for injunctive relief, damages, and attorney’s fees against a school or the organization that governs interscholastic or competitive school sports.
Ballot title
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) released the proposed draft for the ballot question on April 7. It states:
“Do you want to change civil rights and education laws to require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms and sports based on the gender on the child’s original birth certificate and allow students to sue the schools?”
The public comment period for the ballot question began on April 7 and ends on May 7, 2026. Secretary Bellows will finalize the title by May 28.
Protect Girls' Sports in Maine, the campaign sponsoring the initiative, released a statement on April 9, requesting that the ballot question be changed. It says that the drafted question has four errors, namely that the question:
- Erroneously states that the measure would change civil rights laws;
- Does not mention that all private spaces are covered under the measure;
- Uses the term gender instead of sex; and
- Is too simplistic regarding the potential for civil recourse for violations of the measure.
In a Facebook post on April 9, the campaign published instructions for voters to leave comments for the secretary of state’s office concerning the ballot question.
Ethan Strimling, former mayor of Portland and former senator, said of the draft question, “I’d like it to be even more direct. Do you wanna, you know, ban certain kids from being able to participate in the sport of their choice. That seems a little closer.”
He said Secretary Bellows wrote a comprehensive and acceptable ballot question, “I think she’s taken the legal language and she’s said, okay, here’s what the bill says as opposed to the, you know proponents of the bill who want to make this about some bigger issue in terms of what they perceive to be some of the results of these changes. So she’s done a good job. She did a good job in the past and I think she’s on the right path here.”
Support for the measure
In a public hearing on the initiative at the state capitol on April 14, state Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-70) said she was in favor of the initiative. She said, "We need to protect everybody, and unfortunately, it does come down to sex for that, it has to, there are true differences and it's meaningful differences.”
Holly Lusk of the Christian Civic League of Maine said, “To tell a high schooler in a locker room that tense, sick feeling in her gut and not only accommodate but celebrate the presence of a male when she changes her clothes for gym class is gaslighting.”
Opposition to the measure
Also in the public hearing, David Farmer, the manager of the Free and Fair Schools campaign, said the initiative is flawed because it doesn’t allow for nuance. He stated, “A blanket ban that treats kindergarteners the same as it treats high school seniors, and it will lead to lawsuits and big costs because of bad public policy.”
Mary Bonauto of GLAD Law agreed. She said, “In the hunt to exclude the few, currently nonexistent, transgender students who play sports, this measure would create a bureaucratic nightmare for families, students and schools.”
Other similar measures on the 2026 ballot
The Maine measure is the third statewide measure on the ballot to address sex-based sports eligibility requirements. Voters in two states will decide similar measures in November:
- Colorado - The measure would require student athletes to participate on men's or women's school and collegiate athletic teams that match their sex, defined as biological reproductive systems.
- Washington - The measure would require students seeking to participate in athletic activities designated for female students to submit documentation from their healthcare provider verifying the student’s biological sex based on "reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels."
Voters in two other states could decide on ballot measures related to sports eligibility requirements based on sex. As of April 2026, campaigns sponsoring both measures are currently gathering signatures in an attempt to place them on the ballot.
- Nevada - The measure would require that eligibility for sports or athletic competitions in public schools and colleges is based upon the sex of the athlete recorded at birth, and that males are not permitted to participate in a sport or competition designated for females.
- Nebraska - The measure would establish a constitutional requirement for schools to designate sports teams as male, female, or co-ed and prohibit male participation on female sports teams. In 2025, Nebraska enacted a state statute requiring student athletes to provide a document verifying their sex, signed by or under the authority of a doctor, in order to participate on athletic teams designated as male or female.
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