Colorado and Washington are reliably Democratic states where elected officials have rejected moves to ban transgender women and girls from female sports competitions.
asserted
officials → elect → competitions
Now activists have gone around lawmakers to put proposed bans on both states’ ballots.
asserted
activists → go → ballots
At a time when some Democratic leaders nationwide are recalibrating their approach to transgender issues, particularly sports, and polls show Americans generally back the bans, supporters are optimistic they will pass and open the door to similar efforts in other places where lawmakers have blocked bans.
asserted
lawmakers → recalibrate → bans
Though the issue has been debated in many legislatures, this is the first time it’s going to voters.
asserted
it → debate → voters
“What is happening in 2026 is a testing ground for the future,” said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which supports LGBTQ+ rights.
asserted
which → happen → rights
Twenty-seven states — including all where Republicans control both the legislature and governor’s office — already have such laws.
asserted
Republicans → include → laws
The efforts are billed as a way to protect women and girls and keep separate spaces for them, tapping into a concern that’s gained momentum.
asserted
that → bill → momentum
President Donald Trump has taken steps to roll back transgender rights.
asserted
Trump → take → rights
The Supreme Court has upheld state sports bans.
asserted
Court → uphold → bans
A June poll from Quinnipiac University found that about 7 in 10 registered voters think transgender women and girls should not be allowed to play on female sports teams.
asserted
women → find → teams
About one-quarter think they should.
asserted
they → think → ?
Democrats are divided, with about half saying transgender women and girls should be allowed and about half saying they should not.
asserted
they → say → ?
Robert Preuhs, a professor of political science at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the absence of public polls on Colorado’s ballot measure, which also covers college sports, makes it hard to predict whether it will pass.
asserted
it → say → sports
“It’s probably going to get more support than some of the Republican candidates that will run,” he said.
asserted
he → go → candidates
Since transgender restrictions gained traction this decade, states with Democratic-led governors’ offices and legislatures generally have rejected proposals such as banning transgender people from the bathrooms that match their gender identity and restricting gender-affirming care.
asserted
that → gain → care
Most Republican-led states have adopted those policies.
asserted
states → lead → policies
In addition to the two blue-state questions, a measure in Arizona would broaden an existing ban to include private schools, and one in Nebraska would add an existing state law to the state constitution.
asserted
one → broaden → constitution
The argument has been framed around fairness
There’s not a clear consensus on whether transgender women and girls have a competitive advantage.
asserted
women → frame → advantage
Factors include the age of the athlete, the sport, whether the athlete went through male puberty and how long they’ve received hormone therapy.
asserted
they → include → therapy
But the idea that girls are being cheated is personal for some athletes.
asserted
girls → cheat → athletes
Ahnaleigh Wilson, a 17-year-old junior at Eastmont High School, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Seattle, has been speaking out against allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports since she was in junior high.
asserted
she → speak → high
She said she’d won all her 1,600-meter races in seventh and eighth grade — until she finished second to a transgender athlete in a major meet.
asserted
she → say → meet
“I knew it wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair,” she said.
asserted
she → know → ?
Wilson said three other transgender athletes she’s competed against since then placed better in girls races than they would have with the same times against boys.
asserted
they → say → boys
“Women have fought for Title IX and our own categories and it’s very important that we keep the dignity of that, and let women have their own sports and their own spaces to be safe and completely fair,” she said, referencing the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, including athletics.
asserted
that → fight → athletics
Opponents say excluding transgender girls is also unfair.
asserted
excluding → say → girls
“They will say that they want to protect kids and in particular, young girls,” said Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, which is leading the opposition to the measure there, “but I don’t understand how you can protect kids and discriminate against kids at the same time.”
asserted
you → say → time
The number of transgender girls in school sports is believed to be a sliver of the total participants.
asserted
number → believe → participants
Neither Colorado nor Washington has an official count.
asserted
Colorado → have → count
Let’s Go Washington, which is behind the measure in that state, says it’s counted 16 such athletes and that there could be more.
uncertain
it → let → athletes
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has counted about 101,000 girls in sports that it oversees — a figure that double-counts girls who play in multiple sports.
asserted
who → count → sports
The issue crosses party lines — and that may be the idea
uncertain
that → cross → lines
Imara Jones, an advocate who runs a website that features the stories of transgender people, said the issue is attractive for conservatives because some Democrats agree with them.
asserted
Democrats → run → them
Hedge fund manager Brian Heywood is funding Let’s Go Washington, which is also behind two other measures.
asserted
which → fund → measures
One would expand parent access to school social work and counseling records for their children and one would repeal a newly adopted tax on incomes over $1 million.
asserted
one → expand → million
Western Washington University political scientist Todd Donovan said Let’s Go is hoping that voters supporting the transgender sports ban would also favor overturning the tax.
asserted
voters → say → tax
Tracy Flint of Ridgefield, Washington, a Democrat and former graphic artist, said she’s wrestling with how to vote.
asserted
she → say → Ridgefield
“It’s new to my brain, so it’s a really tough one for me,” she said.
asserted
she → ’ → me
Her husband, Dave Flint, 60, a former Republican who opposes Trump and now votes for Democrats, lamented that an issue affecting so few people has become such a national controversy.
asserted
issue → oppose → people
“But I guess you still have to address it,” he said.
asserted
he → guess → it
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
