Mainers may vote on barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports 

Maine voters could decide this fall whether to bar male transgender athletes from girls’ sports and private spaces. 

A citizens’ initiative backed by Protect Girls’ Sports submitted about 68,000 signatures Monday, meeting the threshold to qualify for the November ballot if enough are verified by state officials, WMTW reported. 

The proposal would ban athletes from competing on school sports teams that don’t align with their biological sex and from using those bathrooms and locker rooms. 

“This is a huge win for female athletes,” said Sophia Pride, a freshman at the University of Maine. “I’ve worked with and spoken to girls who were afraid to say how they felt, girls who were told if they questioned fairness, something must be wrong with them or that speaking up made them unkind or uneducated.” 

Lawmakers considered several bills last year addressing transgender participation in girls’ sports, but none passed. Supporters of the initiative say that failure left voters with no option but to take the issue directly to the ballot. 

“They don’t get to call victory when they’ve refused to even get in the game,” said Leyland Streiff, co-lead of the ballot question committee Maine Girl Dads. “Let democracy play out, let the voters decide, let this issue go to the November ballot.” 

The issue has drawn increased attention following recent high school competitions. Last winter, Katie Spencer, a male athlete who identifies as a woman, won two Class B girls state titles, taking first place in the pole vault and helping Greely High School win the team championship, as The Lion previously reported. 

During the spring 2024 season, Soren Stark-Chessa, a male athlete from Maine Coast Waldorf School, won the girls’ 800-meter Class C state title. 

Maine has also seen transgender athletes succeed in girls’ Nordic skiing, cross country, basketball and soccer. Stark-Chessa competed in girls’ skiing and cross country, while Lucy Tidd of Portland, a biological male, competed in girls’ basketball and soccer. 

The ballot effort comes as Maine and the White House clash over federal civil rights rules. The Trump administration has sought to withhold federal funding from Maine over the state’s refusal to adopt its interpretation of Title IX, which honors the original intent of protecting women from unequal treatment. 

More than 30 states now have laws or policies restricting male transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports. An NBC News poll released in April 2025 found 75% of Americans oppose male athletes competing in girls’ sports. 

If state officials certify the signatures, Maine voters will have the final say in November.