A Superior Court judge has upheld a decision by Maine’s secretary of state to bar a citizens’ initiative from the November ballot over improper signature collection methods that left the referendum 500 signatures short of the required number.

The initiative from a group called Protect Girls Sports in Maine sought to put a question on the ballot asking Maine voters if they wanted to prohibit transgender students from playing on sports teams or using private facilities, such as locker rooms, associated with their gender identity, requiring those spaces to instead be designated by biological sex.

Although Secretary of State Shenna Bellows originally validated the referendum, three individuals sued in March, alleging improper signature collection by petitioners. Bellows agreed, reversing course, and announced in late May that the question could not appear on the ballot.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows answers questions about disqualifying the transgender sports referendum on Tuesday May 26, 2026 on the outdoor balcony at Maine State House in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)<?xml version="1.0"?> Purchase this image

The matter returned to court, where the group behind the referendum argued the secretary did not have the authority to invalidate its petition.

However, Superior Court Judge Deborah Cashman said in her decision Thursday that Bellows was correct to reject nearly 4,000 signatures that were improperly collected.

The secretary of state’s office found that signature collectors for the referendum had left their signature sheets unattended, submitted improper signatures and failed to consent to Maine’s jurisdiction, all in violation of the state’s process for citizen initiative collection.

Leyland Streiff with Protect Girls Sports in Maine said Thursday that the group plans to seek a review by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

“The committee is committed to continuing its efforts to allow the people of Maine to vote on the Protect Girls Sports legislation at the November general election,” Streiff said.

Bellows said in an interview Thursday that she was pleased the judge upheld her decision, given the work her staff did to review the petition. She said the referendum was disqualified because out-of-state signature collectors refused to submit to Maine laws.

“I swore an oath to uphold the law and Constitution, and my decision was rooted in that,” she said.

Bellows said her office will do whatever the outcome of the appeal dictates.

David Farmer, campaign manager of the committee formed to oppose the ballot question, said there was clear evidence of improper signature collection and noted the involvement of out-of-state billionaires in funding the effort.

“The campaign that tried to attack transgender students broke the rules, it didn’t follow the law and the Superior Court was correct to reject their appeal of the decision by the secretary of state,” Farmer said.

A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday that a final decision would need to be made by Aug. 1 in order to lay out and print ballots for the November election.

The petitioners are also allowed to keep collecting names, although their initial signatures only remain valid for a year after the petition was filed with the secretary’s office (which in this case occurred on Nov. 3, 2025), per Maine’s Constitution.