by WorldTribune Staff, November 5, 2026 — Real World News
Sweeping Democrat wins nationwide on Tuesday did not derail GOP-backed proposals, including in two of the bluest of blue states.
Four states have passed or are close to passing measures to ban or restrict biological males from competing in women’s sports.
Colorado, Nebraska and Washington measures were ballot initiatives, while a law in Arizona reached the ballot by way of the legislature.
With 90% of the vote in, Colorado’s Proposition 134 was passing with 53% of the vote.
The measure would require school athletic teams from elementary school through college to be designated for male, female or coeducational participation and require students to compete according to their biological sex.
Nebraska’s measure is an amendment to the state constitution. State law already prohibits males from participating in women’s sports from kindergarten through college.
Supporters of the ballot initiative have argued that enshrining the 2025 law in the state’s constitution would help prevent the legislature from repealing the law in future sessions. “One of the things we always worry about when we pass a law is that it can be unpassed,” Republican state Rep. Kathleen Kauth, the law’s original sponsor, told Nebraska Public Media in March. The initiative was sponsored by the conservative advocacy group Fairness for Girls.
Washington’s initiative will prohibit biological males from competing in girls’ K-12 sports and require healthcare documentation verifying sex eligibility for students seeking to participate on female teams. Initiative 638 passed with support from nearly 57% of voters as of Thursday morning, though votes were still being counted.
Arizona’s initiative, which was garnering approximately 59% support late Wednesday, expands existing restrictions on transgender athletes to include private athletic associations and prohibits schools and athletic organizations from allowing individuals to use bathrooms, locker rooms and other private spaces designated for a sex different from the one recorded on their original birth certificate.
According to Ballotpedia, 29 states have laws, regulations or interscholastic rules limiting or banning males from participating on female school sports teams.
