Voters Approve Transgender Sports Restrictions in Four States

The measures passed despite a nationwide Democratic wave, with voters in two traditionally blue states—Colorado and Washington—joining Arizona and Nebraska in approving restrictions. Their provisions vary, but each ties eligibility for female-designated sports teams to biological sex rather than gender identity.

Arizona’s Proposition 318 won 58.7% of the vote. It extends existing restrictions to private sports groups, sets rules for bathroom, shower and locker-room access, and allows athletes to sue schools or athletic associations that knowingly violate the law.

In Colorado, Proposition 134 passed with 52.2%, requiring school teams at every level, from elementary grades to college, to allocate participation according to biological sex. Voters also approved Proposition 135, which curbs access for transgender minors to some surgeries related to gender. Washington’s measure, approved by 55.9%, bars trans girls from K-12 girls’ sports and adds healthcare documentation requirements for students seeking to compete on female teams.

Nebraska voters approved Initiative 442 with 67.8%, placing current restrictions in the state constitution and making them harder for lawmakers to change. Critics say its gender-verification requirements create extra hurdles for girls in public-school and college sports, while not applying to boys’ and men’s teams.

An October poll found 63% of surveyed U.S. voters supported laws that assign athletes to teams based on the sex recorded at birth; 22% opposed them and 15% had no opinion. The election results add to a debate that has also played out in legislatures, courts and athletic associations.