Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows explained why she invalidated signatures collected by two out-of-state petition circulators hired by the Protect Girls Sports campaign on May 26, 2026. (Photo by Eesha Pendharkar/ Maine Morning Star)
A Superior Court judge on Tuesday upheld the secretary of state’s decision to invalidate the anti-transgender referendum that had been slated for the November ballot.
After months of back and forth, that means the citizen-led initiative seeking to limit what school sports teams, bathrooms, and locker rooms trans students can access ultimately fell about 500 signatures short of the legal threshold to qualify.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision affirming the Secretary of State’s determination that this petition failed to qualify for the ballot,” said Ben Stafford, a partner at Elias Law Group, who represented Maine voters who challenged the petitions. “Today’s ruling confirms that Maine’s signature requirements were not met and the law was applied fairly.”
In a statement, the citizen group behind the initiative said it 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.”
On June 11, Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman denied Protect Girls Sports’ appeal. The signature gathering practices of the group first came into question in March, when three voters sued the Secretary of State for initially finding the petition valid.
In April, Cashman remanded the case back to the Secretary of State’s Office for a final determination. On May 12, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien and Assistant Attorney General Jon Bolton held an hourslong hearing during which both sides presented their arguments. Through the course of that hearing, a pattern of improper signature collection emerged with out-of-state signature collectors admitting to leaving petition forms unattended, writing on the forms, and failing to sign required affidavits.
Following that hearing, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows invalidated the referendum on May 26 for failing to collect enough valid signatures.
“We certainly have discussed how important it is that those trying to bring a citizen initiative train their circulators, particularly out of staters who may be unfamiliar with Maine law,” Bellows said at the time, during a press conference explaining her decision. “My election staff sat down for multiple hours with those spearheading this particular initiative to walk them through the law and the requirements in detail.”
“Unfortunately,” she added, “out of state circulators either did not adhere to training provided by those leading the initiative or those leading the initiative failed.”
Protect Girls Sports filed an appeal with the Superior Court. In their argument, the campaign did not deny the claims of circulator misconduct, but instead argued that some of the rules governing petition collection were applied incorrectly.
Cashman rejected those arguments, finding that the secretary’s interpretations of Maine election law were reasonable and that the challenged rules serve Maine’s interest in protecting the integrity of the petition process.
“When assessing the secretary’s determination of initiative petitions, the court’s review must be deferential and limited,” Cashman wrote.
The Protect Girls Sports campaign said that despite the ruling, they remain confident in the challenges it raised to the secretary’s decision and will seek review by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
This story was originally produced by Maine Morning Star, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Florida Phoenix, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
