Maine ballot initiative barring boys from using girls' locker rooms in danger of being blocked

Protect Girls in Sports Maine lead petitioner Leyland Streiff joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the surge in support to protect women's sports amid a looming vote on the issue.

A proposed Maine ballot initiative regarding girls’ sports and sex-segregated school facilities may be blocked from appearing on the November ballot after state officials determined it likely lacks enough valid signatures.

The initiative, called "An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex," would require public school sports teams to be based on a student’s biological sex listed on their birth certificate (unless the team is co-ed) as well as separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers for male and female students.

Protesters gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026, to oppose transgender athletes competing in women's sports as the court reviews related bans in a landmark case. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

According to Maine Wire, Katherine McBrien, a top official in Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office recommended invalidating the initiative after finding that the Protect Girls Sports in Maine campaign submitted 67,150 valid signatures, 532 fewer than the 67,682 required to qualify a citizen initiative for the statewide ballot.

McBrien recommended that 12,542 signatures be rejected following a legal challenge to the petition process.

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Earlier this year, Bellows' office initially approved the approved the petition, saying it had enough valid signatures.

The approval was then challenged in court by three Maine residents who claimed that thousands of the signatures were invalid