Christian Wade
The Center Square

(The Center Square) — A citizen initiative to restrict transgender participation in Maine school sports has cleared a major hurdle to the November ballot with the state's top election official certifying 

Secretary of State's Shenna Bellows' office announced late Tuesday that it has certified 71,033 signatures from registered voters collected over the past several months by the Committee to Protect Girls Sports in Maine, clearing a path for a referendum in the Nov. 5 election. 

Leyland Streiff, who heads the ballot committee Protect Girls Sports in Maine, praised the milestone and said it means Mainers "will get to do what the MPA and State Legislature have failed to do."

"And they'll get to do it through the most democratic process possible — a simple majority vote will designate competitive sports and private facilities in our schools by sex," he said in a statement. "This is inclusive, fair and safe — everyone gets to play sports; not one single person is banned." 

Streiff said Maine's leadership is "out of touch with what voters want" and said the proposal is a "common-sense" approach to dealing with the issue of transgender athletes playing in girls' sports. 

"Maine is far too progressive to allow Sex-based discrimination to continue," he said. "If a female wants a female-only space or opportunity, she must be afforded that under the law. Anything else is discrimination, and frankly regressive." 

The proposal, if approved by voters, would require public schools and the Maine Principals' Association to designate interscholastic or competitive teams for males or females or as co-ed. Only athletes who were female at birth would be allowed to compete on girls' teams. 

Public schools would also be required to maintain separate bathrooms, locker rooms and showers for boys and girls.

Transgender and civil rights groups have formed a coalition to oppose the ballot question, which they say is being funded by wealthy, out-of-state donors seeking to impose a conservative agenda on the state. They say it would increase bullying and harassment of transgender students and lead to costly legal challenges for schools. 

Maine was thrust into the national debate over transgender athletes in female sports after a confrontation between Gov. Janet Mills and President Trump, who has vowed to withhold federal funding from any states that fail to comply with his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports" executive order. 

Mills, a Democrat, has refused to comply with Trump's directive. 

The state is facing a lawsuit from the Education Department's civil rights division that faults Maine's DOE policy allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls' sports, claiming it violates Title IX, a 1972 law that forbids discrimination in schools that receive federal funding.

Meanwhile, the Maine Human Rights Commission is suing five school districts that banned trans students from playing sports and using bathrooms that reflect their gender identity.

Under state law, the proposed ballot question now moves to the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, where lawmakers can either vote to approve the proposal or send it to the November ballot for the state's voters to decide.