A series of restrictive transgender ballot measures passed in multiple states on Tuesday, marking a political and cultural phenomenon amid the blue wave that crushed Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress.
The propositions’ passage in Nebraska and Arizona, which will institute bans on biological males in female sports, came as Colorado and Washington state considered similar measures, including a statutory amendment that would prohibit certain transgender treatments for minors.
Though the ballots are still being counted in Colorado and Washington, with the measure results considered too early to call, all three transgender initiatives between the two solid-blue states carry strong leads in favor of passing as of Thursday afternoon.
That such ballot initiatives performed well with voters, especially in progressive strongholds such as Colorado and Washington, is one of the few wins for conservatives this week that goes against the tide of 2026’s electoral swing leftward.
Notably, none of the proposals mentioned the term “transgender.” The measures, as they appeared on the ballot, explained to voters exactly what the initiatives would do using biologically accurate phrasing.
Colorado’s Proposition 134, currently capturing an approval rate of 52.7% with more than three-fourths of the votes in, is simply titled “Male and Female Participation in School Sports.” It asked voters whether Colorado should change state law to separate school sports by biological sex. Nowhere in the measure were the terms “transgender” or “gender identity” even referenced.
A majority of residents, 52.3%, have also so far approved of Colorado’s Proposition 135, its proposed pediatric sex-change surgeries ban. The ballot initiative, titled “Prohibit Certain Surgeries on Minors,” told Coloradans that its passage would prohibit physicians from performing surgical procedures on children “for the purpose of altering the minor’s biological sex characteristics.”
Washington’s Initiative 638, according to its appearance on the ballot, concerned “participation in athletics at K-12 schools.” Voters were instructed that the measure, if enacted into state law, would prohibit biologically male students from competing in school athletic activities “intended for female students only.” While only 67.5% of the votes have been tallied, the proposal has a commanding 13.2-point approval lead over opposing votes as of Thursday afternoon.
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Amanda Kovattana, the author of the sex-realist Substack blog Tales from the Gender Trail, attributed the ballot initiatives’ success to their wording.
Voter approval of constitutional amendments has historically depended on messaging and how the proposals are described on the actual ballot. Kovattana pointed to the recent measures’ use of biological specificity, rather than terminology derived from gender ideology, to lay out what so-called “transgender athlete bans” actually mean.
“Nobody knows what transgender is,” Kovattana said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. “There’s no legal definition, but we can stick with the sex-based definitions of boy versus girl. I mean, everybody can relate to that. So as soon as we unmask, take away this language that’s overtaken us, and people can see the black and white issue of it, then common sense can return.”
Elspeth Cypher, the president of the Women’s Liberation Front, also emphasized the importance of ballot questions unpacking the issue to voters in clear and explicit language, instead of relying on loaded phrases such as “transgender inclusion” and “transgender rights.”
“Instead of saying, ‘Should transgender girls be allowed to participate in girls’ sports?’ you ask, ‘Should biological boys be permitted to compete against girls?’” Cypher told the Washington Examiner. “Then there is no confusion.”
Kovattan said a December 2025 incident involving a biologically male wrestler in Puyallup, Washington, sexually assaulting a 16-year-old female athlete on the wrestling mat was a wake-up call to many, sparking safety concerns about allowing biological males into high-contact girls’ sports.
“Some wrestlers will defend it and say, ‘Yeah, there’s all kinds of holds that are done and permitted,’ but when it comes to situations between a boy and a girl, and the boy is penetrating her with his fingers, that just takes it out of the realm of sport,” Kovattana said.
Kovattana said the case called public attention, on the West Coast in particular, to the plight of girls facing biologically male opponents.
“As far as bans are concerned, this is about protecting girls,” Kovattana said. “It’s not about being pro- or anti-trans. We just don’t want them infiltrating girls’ spaces because they’re vulnerable at this age and can be compromised physically and psychologically.”
Kovattana, a San Francisco Bay Area activist, tried to get similar initiatives on the ballot in California but could not gather enough signatures. She and other advocates tried to push a female sports bill through the state legislature, she said, but lawmakers “just wouldn’t even let it out of committee.”
“So for these states to be able to even get the issue on the ballot was a phenomenon itself,” Kovattana said of the initiatives in Colorado and Washington.
Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, which lobbies against youth gender medicine and biological males in women’s sports, celebrated the ballot results.
“The culture war is working — that much was obvious as voters in Washington, Colorado, and Arizona overwhelmingly backed ballot initiatives to protect vulnerable kids amid a blue wave,” Schilling told the Washington Examiner. “In fact, some of these measures are running well ahead of Democrats in blowout races.”
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In Arizona, for instance, the sex-segregated sports proposition passed by 17.8 percentage points. Comparatively, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) won reelection by 12.8 points.
“Republicans have a lot of lessons to learn from Tuesday, but one major takeaway is this: A nationwide ban on child sex changes and safeguarding girls’ sports are national winners that can be used as wedge issues,” Schilling said.
Gabrielle Etzel contributed to this report.