Maine judge upholds block of anti-trans initiative on November ballot

On Thursday, a Superior Court judge upheld the block of a referendum on transgender athletes from its November ballot, according to Maine Public.The proposal, launched by Protect Girls' Sports in Maine, aimed to restrict transgender school athletes to compete only on teams that match their gender assigned at birth, or on co-ed teams. Further, it would enforce the use of separate “male” and “female” locker rooms, restrooms, and showers.The campaign gained momentum in February, when the group submitted a petition with nearly 80,000 signatures to include the measure on the ballot. It was initially approved by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; however, opponents quickly challenged the validity of many of the signatures. In May, after reviewing the petition and holding a hearing that included both parties, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien recommended that over 12,500 of the signatures be invalidated due to multiple issues — including forged signatures, petition circulators failing to file proper paperwork, duplicate signatures, and signatories not matching local voter registration records. Bellows agreed with McBrien's recommendation and blocked the measure from going to voters in November. Maine Secretary of State, Shenna BellowsMaine.govProtect Girls' Sports appealed the decision in Maine's Superior Court, arguing that Bellows, a Democrat currently seeking a nomination for governor, exceeded her constitutional authority and denied petition signers their right of free speech. Then on Thursday of this week, in a 13-page ruling, Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman denied the group's appeal and upheld Bellows' previous block of the initiative.In response, the organization's committee released a statement saying it would continue to fight to get the measure on the ballot."[Protect Girls' Sports] is committed to continuing its efforts to allow the people of Maine to vote on the Protect Girls Sports legislation at the November general election,"