Blue-State Voters Back Girls’ Sports Rules as Colorado and Washington Measures Lead

Key Takeaways

Voters in Colorado and Washington gave early majorities to measures requiring girls’ school sports to be organized by biological sex.
Colorado’s separate measure restricting surgeries on minors to alter sex characteristics also held a narrow lead in the unfinished count.
The results show that blue-state voters can support Democrats while rejecting parts of the party’s gender-policy agenda.

What Happened

Voters in Colorado and Washington gave early approval to three ballot measures that would change state policy on transgender athletes and medical procedures for minors, according to unofficial results updated Wednesday morning.

Colorado Proposition 134 led with about 52.1 percent of the vote. The measure requires sports teams at state-funded schools and colleges to be designated male, female, or coeducational according to biological sex. It generally requires students to compete on the corresponding team, with an exception allowing girls to join a boys’ team when no girls’ team is offered.

Proposition 135 held a smaller lead at roughly 51.6 percent. It prohibits surgeries on minors when the purpose is to alter biological sex characteristics in response to a minor’s perception of sex or gender. The measure also bars government funds, Medicaid reimbursement, and insurance coverage for those procedures.

In Washington, Initiative 638 led 56.76 percent to 43.24 percent, with 1,119,192 yes votes and 852,539 no votes in the state results posted early Wednesday. The initiative prohibits students it defines as biologically male from competing in certain K-12 sports reserved for girls. It requires a health-care provider’s statement verifying biological sex.

The counts remain unofficial, and additional ballots could change the Colorado margins. Washington’s lead was wider, but certification will come later.

Supporters said sex-based rules protect fair competition and opportunities for female athletes. Opponents said the measures target transgender students and could lead to invasive scrutiny of girls whose appearance or performance is questioned. The Washington text requires provider verification but does not itself mandate a genital examination.

Why It Matters

Schools have a duty to protect fair opportunities for girls and to give families clear rules before a season begins. When officials erase the sex distinction that created girls’ sports, female athletes bear the cost through lost roster places, awards, and trust in the competition.

The early vote also matters beyond athletics. Voters who supported Democrats elsewhere on the ballot still drew a boundary around policies affecting children’s bodies and girls’ teams. That gap should worry any party that treats disagreement on gender policy as proof of hatred instead of a legitimate public judgment.

The Bigger Picture

Colorado and Washington have generally allowed students to play on teams matching their gender identity. These measures would reverse that approach through direct votes rather than legislative action.

The results do not show uniform agreement on every transgender issue, and the unfinished Colorado count requires caution. They do show that voters can separate candidates from cultural policy. A Democratic win at the top of a state ballot does not automatically mean support for every rule advanced by Democratic officials or advocacy groups.

The original X trend collected reaction to the developing results, but the vote totals and measure descriptions come from state election records and official ballot materials.

With 68% of the vote counted, Colorado is voting to keep girls’ sports for girls, and to ban gender surgeries on kids! pic.twitter.com/4NIko915i9
— Billboard Chris 🌎 (@BillboardChris) November 4, 2026