Maine removes transgender sports ballot measure over invalid signatures

Maine’s top election office removed a transgender sports referendum from the ballot after a court-ordered signature review found the campaign short of the legal threshold, dealing a sharp setback to a closely watched fight over school athletics and facilities.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said the petition behind “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex” finished with 67,150 valid signatures and 12,542 invalid ones, leaving it 532 signatures below the 67,682 valid signatures required under Maine law. The proposal, backed by Protect Girls Sports in Maine, would have asked voters whether school sports participation and facilities, including locker rooms and bathrooms, should be designated by sex.

The ruling came after the Secretary of State’s Office had certified the petition in March with 71,033 valid signatures. A group of Maine voters challenged that certification in court, arguing that thousands of signatures had been counted improperly. After a two-day hearing on May 12 and 13, a judge ordered the office to review the evidence and issue a new determination by May 26. Officials said some signatures were rejected because petition circulators failed to properly witness voters signing the forms, while others were ruled invalid after investigators concluded they had been signed by someone other than the voter.

The hearing also examined allegations of circulator misconduct, duplicate signatures and whether petitions collected in Topsham, Saco and Auburn should count. NEWS CENTER Maine reported that challengers argued 8,659 validated signatures should not have been included in the earlier count. Bellows said her decision was based on the evidence and facts presented to her office, and she declined to discuss her 2026 governor’s race when asked about it.

The decision keeps alive a political fight that has repeatedly played out in Augusta, where the Democratic-led Legislature has blocked Republican-backed efforts to bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. The Maine GOP criticized the signature review process and accused Bellows of political bias. Bellows said supporters could try again for a future ballot, including a possible 2027 attempt if enough valid signatures are gathered by next winter.