Maine’s secretary of state has removed a proposed referendum targeting transgender students’ access to school sports and bathrooms from the November ballot after thousands of petition signatures were ruled invalid. The measure, backed by Protect Girls Sports in Maine, sought to require public schools to limit bathroom and sports participation based on a student’s sex assigned at birth. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said that staff found over 12K signatures could not be counted. As a result, the petition fell a few hundred signatures short of the required number to qualify. Petitioners have 10 days to appeal. The ruling comes as multiple US states continue pursuing restrictions on transgender students in sports and school facilities.
