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KALAMA, Wash. — <\/span>Colorado and Washington are reliably Democratic states where elected officials have rejected moves to ban transgender women and girls from female sports competitions. Now activists have gone around lawmakers to put proposed bans on both states’ ballots.<\/p>\n At a time when some Democratic leaders nationwide are recalibrating<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n Though the issue has been debated in many legislatures, this is the first time it’s going to voters.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is happening in 2026 is a testing ground for the future,\u201d said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which supports LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n Twenty-seven states \u2014 including all where Republicans control both the legislature and governor\u2019s office \u2014 already have such laws.<\/p>\n The efforts are billed as a way to protect women and girls and keep separate spaces for them, tapping into a concern that\u2019s gained momentum. President Donald Trump<\/a> has taken steps to roll back transgender rights. The Supreme Court<\/a> has upheld state sports bans. <\/p>\n A June poll<\/a> 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. About one-quarter think they should. Democrats are divided, with about half saying transgender women and girls should be allowed and about half saying they should not.<\/p>\n 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. \u201cIt\u2019s probably going to get more support than some of the Republican candidates that will run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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. Most Republican-led states have adopted those policies. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n There\u2019s not a clear consensus on whether transgender women and girls have a competitive advantage. Factors include the age of the athlete, the sport, whether the athlete went through male puberty and how long they\u2019ve received hormone therapy.<\/p>\n But the idea that girls are being cheated is personal for some athletes.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 sports since she was in junior high. She said she\u2019d won all her 1,600-meter races in seventh and eighth grade \u2014 until she finished second to a transgender athlete in a major meet.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew it wasn\u2019t right and it wasn\u2019t fair,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen have fought for Title IX and our own categories and it\u2019s 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,\u201d she said, referencing the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities, including athletics.<\/p>\n Opponents say excluding transgender girls is also unfair.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will say that they want to protect kids and in particular, young girls,\u201d said Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado, which is leading the opposition to the measure there, \u201cbut I don\u2019t understand how you can protect kids and discriminate against kids at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n The number of transgender girls in school sports is believed to be a sliver of the total participants. Neither Colorado nor Washington has an official count.<\/p>\n Let’s Go Washington, which is behind the measure in that state, says it\u2019s counted 16 such athletes and that there could be more. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has counted about 101,000 girls in sports that it oversees \u2014 a figure that double-counts girls who play in multiple sports.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n