Trans Sports Ban Gains Enough Signatures to Appear on Washington State Ballot

On January 3, 2026, the far-right political group Let’s Go Washington announced that it had collected more than 400,000 signatures — enough to place a transgender sports ban for high school students on the ballot with genital inspections as a primary verification method. The group, bankrolled by conservative megadonor Brian Heywood, previously played a central role in pushing a forced outing policy through the Washington State Legislature in 2024, a measure that was later significantly watered down. The signature haul is notable, marking one of the first serious attempts to bring a major and explicit anti-transgender initiative directly before Washington voters. Whether that strategy will succeed remains an open question: Republicans leaned heavily into anti-transgender campaigning in 2025 and suffered sweeping defeats nationwide, despite spending tens of millions of dollars attempting to turn transgender people into a political wedge. If the initiative passes, it may conflict with constitutional protections in the state.

The initiative, known as IL26-638, would amend the law governing the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, other sporting associations, and public schools statewide. Currently, the association allows transgender students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity. Under the proposed measure, participation in girls’ sports would be conditioned on a medical verification of sex, requiring either a genital examination or a blood test. Such provisions have proven highly controversial and have derailed similar efforts elsewhere. Most notably, a recent attempt in Congress to ban transgender girls from women’s sports — despite passing the U.S. House by razor-thin margins — ultimately failed to advance in the Senate, in part due to the invasive enforcement mechanisms embedded in the policy.

The organization has also claimed it has gathered enough signatures for a separate initiative, IL26-001, which would mandate the forced outing of transgender students statewide. A previous version of this effort succeeded in reaching the ballot and ultimately led to legislation passed by the Washington State Legislature, but that bill was later watered down and did not result in widespread, mandatory outing of trans students. This new initiative is designed to restore language that the group believes would allow, and in practice require, forced outing across the state’s public schools.

Provided that the signatures are certified, Washington State Legislators will have three options. They can pass the initiative as written, they can reject the initiative, or they can propose an alternative to the initiative. If they decide to reject the initiative, then the initiative will appear on the ballot on November 3rd. Likewise, if they decide to propose an alternative initiative, then both the initiative as well as the legislature-proposed alternative will appear on the Washington State ballot in November.

When most people think of sports, they tend to picture highly physical competitions like sprinting or swimming. But the bill’s reach would extend far beyond those contexts, impacting activities that few associate with athletic advantage at all. One example is the Washington State Scholastic Esports Association, which many schools participate in and which partners with the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Under the bill’s language, esports would likely be swept in as well if any schools establish girls teams. Similar concerns apply to sports like bowling and golf, where claims that a transgender girl who has undergone hormone therapy retains a meaningful “biological advantage” strain credulity.

If the measure passes, it may still face constitutional challenges under Washington state law. State statutes and long-standing court rulings provide protections for transgender students. Washington adopted an Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 declaring that “equality of rights and responsibility under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex.” That provision triggers strict scrutiny for claims of sex discrimination, a standard that would likely render a categorical ban on transgender participation in sports unconstitutional — particularly given the state’s more liberal judiciary

Washington’s regular legislative session convenes on Monday, January 12. Once the signatures are certified, the initiatives will be transmitted to the legislature, which will then be forced to determine its strategy moving forward.

This piece was republished with permission from Erin In The Morning.