Protect Girls Sports in Maine has filed an appeal with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court challenging a lower court’s decision blocking the group’s referendum question from appearing on the ballot this November.
Leyland Streiff of the organization indicated the group’s intent to appeal the ruling in a statement obtained by the Maine Wire last week.
Under the proposed legislation, students would only be eligible to play on sports teams and access protected spaces such as locker rooms and bathrooms that align with their biological sex, regardless of whether or not they identify as transgender.
Although the petition to place this measure on the ballot was originally successful, receiving validation from the Secretary of State’s Office in March, three individuals sued alleging that signatures were improperly collected.
[RELATED: ‘Protect Girls Sports in Maine’ Referendum Cleared for November Ballot After Signature Validation]
Bellows agreed with the arguments being presented by the challengers and reversed her position on the petition’s eligibility in late May.
Submitted to the state were 8,067 petition forms with 79,692 signatures, of which 71,033 were certified as valid. Petitions in support of putting the question on the ballot had been in circulation since November 3, 2025.
Protect Girls Sports in Maine took the issue back to court shortly thereafter, arguing that the Secretary of State acted outside her authority.
[RELATED: Maine Girl Dads Ballot Fight Heads to Hearing as Signature Challenge Threatens November Vote]
Superior Court Judge Deborah Cashman ruled last week, however, that Bellows acted appropriately in rejecting an additional 4,000 signatures that were deemed to have been improperly collected.
Protect Girls Sports has now appealed this decision to the state’s highest legal authority.
The Maine Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in this case on July 1 at 10 a.m. in Augusta’s Capital Judicial Center.
Should the group prevail, the question that would appear on the November ballot would read:
“Do you want to change civil rights and education laws to require public schools to restrict access to bathrooms, other private spaces, and sports, based on the sex on every child’s original birth certificate, and allow students to sue the schools?”
keeping my fingers crossed that this gets on the ballot.
The democrats will fight hard to make sure this choice is never given to Maine voters.
If this bill gets to the ballot will Bellows demand RCV.
We can only hope common sense prevails