Voters in two of America’s bluest states are deciding whether female sports should remain female.
Colorado and Washington have placed closely watched measures on Tuesday’s ballot that would prevent transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports.
If either measure passes, voters will have done what Democratic lawmakers in those states repeatedly refused to do.
The Associated Press described Colorado and Washington as reliably Democratic states where elected officials have rejected prior efforts to bar transgender women and girls from female competition. That makes these ballot fights a national test of whether the public is moving faster than the political class.
Arizona and Nebraska are considering related measures this year, but Colorado Proposition 134 and Washington Initiative 638 stand out because they put the question directly before voters in deep-blue territory.
No state had previously enacted such a restriction through a statewide ballot question, making Tuesday’s results a potential roadmap for campaigns elsewhere. The report also noted that a growing number of Democratic politicians now acknowledge that transgender girls should not compete in girls’ sports, even while party leaders continue resisting legislation.
Colorado’s proposal covers school and collegiate athletics, while Washington’s measure focuses on K-12 competition and includes a verification rule. Both still force voters to answer the same question: whether biological sex or gender identity should control eligibility in female athletic categories.
In Colorado, the choice is straightforward. Proposition 134 would require school and collegiate athletic programs to classify teams as male, female or coeducational based on sex.
COLORADO ELECTION DAY!
COUNTDOWN: Ballots are due by 7 PM TONIGHT!
Protect Colorado’s kids—vote YES, YES, YES on Props 133, 134 & 135!
YES 133: Life in prison for child sex traffickers
YES 134: Protect girls’ sports & spaces
YES 135: Protect minors from… pic.twitter.com/ZuYd9ubeBe
— ProtectKidsColorado (@ProtectKidsCO) November 3, 2026
The official Colorado ballot information booklet explains that teams designated for females, women or girls would not be open to male students. Male teams could remain open to female students when a corresponding female team is not offered.
The measure applies from K-12 schools through public colleges and universities. Supporters argue that sex-based categories preserve fair competition, athletic opportunities and privacy for women and girls.
Opponents frame the proposal as discrimination against transgender students. But the ballot question forces voters to confront a basic reality that years of slogans cannot erase: female sports were created because male and female bodies are not athletically interchangeable.
"EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. FAIR COMPETITION."
"As a female athlete here in Colorado, I don’t want to have to share my sport with a biological male. Vote YES to protect girls’ sports." — McKinley, Student Athlete
Proposition 134 ensures designated male, female, and coed… pic.twitter.com/RfCTCdz357
— ProtectKidsColorado (@ProtectKidsCO) November 2, 2026
Washington’s Initiative 638 would establish a similar rule for K-12 interscholastic athletics. Its enforcement mechanism, however, has become the center of the campaign.
The official initiative text says schools must bar male students from female-only athletic events. It also requires a health-care provider to verify a student’s biological sex during the routine sports-physical process.
The initiative defines that verification through reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup or naturally occurring testosterone levels. Opponents have attacked that provision as invasive, while supporters say it creates a uniform rule instead of forcing coaches and local schools to make ad hoc eligibility decisions.
The text applies to public schools and to private schools that participate in interscholastic activities governed by the state’s athletic association or a similar organization. It directs school districts and athletic governing bodies to adopt policies consistent with the female-only rule.
It also places the verification inside the existing preparticipation physical process, not as a separate examination invented by a coach or school administrator. That distinction is central to the dispute over how the measure would work in practice.
More than 445,000 Washington voters signed to put the broader initiative package before the public, according to its sponsoring campaign. The legislature had an opportunity to act and declined, sending the matter to the November ballot.
That is representative government working exactly as it should. When lawmakers refuse to settle a fundamental policy dispute, citizens retain the power to decide it themselves.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT: FILL OUT YOUR BALLOT TODAY!
The time to protect Colorado's kids is NOW. Join Erin Lee, Battle of Benghazi hero Mark "Oz" Geist, and US Gymnastics Champion Jennifer Sey in voting YES, YES, YES!
YES on 133: Life in prison without parole for… pic.twitter.com/jgPzclan3E
— ProtectKidsColorado (@ProtectKidsCO) November 2, 2026
The political significance extends well beyond two state lines. Democrats have spent years insisting that restrictions on transgender participation are extreme, even as parents and female athletes have watched records, roster spots and podium positions shift.
Now voters in Colorado and Washington can answer without a committee chairman, governor or party strategist filtering the question for them.
The result will show whether the issue still follows the old red-state, blue-state divide. It may also reveal something national polling has suggested for years: protecting a separate category for female athletes is not a fringe position.
Women such as Riley Gaines turned this debate into a national movement because they refused to pretend that fairness and inclusion always point in the same direction. Their argument is simple: compassion for every student does not require abolishing the boundaries that made women’s athletics possible.
Whatever happens Tuesday night, political leaders will be watching. If voters in two Democratic strongholds approve these measures, the message will be impossible to dismiss.
Girls deserve a fair field, a fair race and a category of their own. Colorado and Washington now have the chance to put that principle into law.
The post Deep-Blue Colorado and Washington Vote on Banning Transgender Girls From Girls’ Sports appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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[H/T 100PercentFedUp]
