Secretary of State invalidates anti-trans ballot question due to improper signature gathering
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows invalidated a citizen-led ballot initiative aiming to restrict transgender students’ access to school bathrooms, locker rooms and team sports that align with their gender identity. That’s because the group leading the effort did not collect enough valid signatures to qualify for a ballot referendum, she said at a Tuesday press conference in Augusta.
Bellows’ decision follows a recommendation from Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien after she presided over a hearing earlier this month regarding signature validity and found that more than 12,000 had been collected improperly.
“Citizen initiatives are direct democracy. Just as we take voting security seriously, we take petition integrity seriously,” Bellows said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some out-of-state circulators failed to meet certain legal requirements for petitions, resulting in this initiative failing to qualify for the ballot after legal review.”
The ballot campaign seeks to require sports teams and school facilities to be separated by biological sex as opposed to gender identity, at odds with the Maine Human Rights Act. It follows several failed legislative attempts to pass similar laws, while Maine is being sued by the federal government over its transgender inclusion policy.
https://mainemorningstar.com/2026/05/26/anti-trans-initiative-will-not-appear-on-november-ballot-secretary-of-state-determines/