Five States Set to Vote on Anti-Transgender Ballot Measures This November

Ahead of the 2026 elections, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington will each present voters with initiatives designed to curb transgender rights in schools and healthcare. Washington's proposal, financed by Brian Heywood’s Let’s Go Washington PAC, would mandate a doctor’s verification of biological sex for any girl seeking to join a sex-segregated sport, potentially affecting thousands of athletes. Colorado will feature two measures: one banning gender-affirming surgery for minors and another preventing transgender students from competing on teams matching their gender identity, both backed by Protect Kids Colorado and activist Erin Lee.

Arizona’s Proposition 318 aims to extend its ban on transgender girls in sports to private and club teams and to restrict restroom access, despite Governor Katie Hobbs’ repeated vetoes of similar bills. Missouri and Nebraska propose constitutional amendments that would bar gender-affirming care for minors and permanently exclude transgender athletes from girls’ sports, respectively, largely funded by dark-money sources.

Opposition groups such as the ACLU of Arizona, Stop the Ban Missouri coalition, Fairness for Girls campaign and others have raised multi-million-dollar defenses, though they are generally outspent. A sixth initiative in Maine was invalidated after the state Supreme Judicial Court found signature irregularities, making this the first instance of voters directly deciding on anti-trans measures across the country.