News and Events => Political and Legal News => Topic started by: Jessica_Rose on May 26, 2026, 12:25:53 PM Return to Full Version
Title: Maine's transgender sports initiative halted by invalid signatures
Post by: Jessica_Rose on May 26, 2026, 12:25:53 PM
Post by: Jessica_Rose on May 26, 2026, 12:25:53 PM
Maine's transgender sports initiative halted by invalid signatures
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maine-s-transgender-sports-initiative-halted-by-invalid-signatures/ar-AA247nMF?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=60d0af92293047c9f91b1329e44c7c91&ei=32
PATRICK WHITTLE and GEOFF MULVIHILL (26 May 2026)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine initiative intended to limit transgender students' ability to participate in sports has been removed from the ballot because of invalid signatures, the secretary of state ruled Tuesday.
The proposal from parents' group Protect Girls Sports in Maine was slated to go before voters in November. It would have asked voters if they wanted to require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms and sports based on the gender denoted on a child's birth certificate.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said Tuesday her staff found that more than 12,000 signatures on the petition for the referendum were invalid. That leaves the petition drive a few hundred short of the 67,682 required for the initiative to make the ballot, Bellows said.
Bellows' decision is a setback for the nationwide movement to limit or ban transgender students in sports. Maine emerged as a battleground for the issue last year following a public disagreement between Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is in her final year of office due to term limits, and President Donald Trump.
The petitioners have 10 days to appeal Bellows' decision. Representatives for Protect Girls Sports in Maine did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but indicated last week that they would keep pushing for the initiative to appear on the ballot. The group will also have the ability to try to get the initiative on a future ballot, Bellows said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maine-s-transgender-sports-initiative-halted-by-invalid-signatures/ar-AA247nMF?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=60d0af92293047c9f91b1329e44c7c91&ei=32
PATRICK WHITTLE and GEOFF MULVIHILL (26 May 2026)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine initiative intended to limit transgender students' ability to participate in sports has been removed from the ballot because of invalid signatures, the secretary of state ruled Tuesday.
The proposal from parents' group Protect Girls Sports in Maine was slated to go before voters in November. It would have asked voters if they wanted to require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms and sports based on the gender denoted on a child's birth certificate.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is running for governor as a Democrat, said Tuesday her staff found that more than 12,000 signatures on the petition for the referendum were invalid. That leaves the petition drive a few hundred short of the 67,682 required for the initiative to make the ballot, Bellows said.
Bellows' decision is a setback for the nationwide movement to limit or ban transgender students in sports. Maine emerged as a battleground for the issue last year following a public disagreement between Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is in her final year of office due to term limits, and President Donald Trump.
The petitioners have 10 days to appeal Bellows' decision. Representatives for Protect Girls Sports in Maine did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but indicated last week that they would keep pushing for the initiative to appear on the ballot. The group will also have the ability to try to get the initiative on a future ballot, Bellows said.