A group calling itself Maine Girl Dads held a drive-thru petition event Saturday in Brunswick, gathering additional signatures for a proposed 2026 referendum titled “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex.” The measure would require Maine public schools to assign athletic teams, bathrooms, and locker rooms based on biological sex at birth, effectively barring transgender-identifying males from girls’ sports and private facilities.
Organizers report they have collected more than 60,000 valid signatures and are on pace to exceed the 67,992 required by early February 2026. Video from the event showed long lines of vehicles and volunteers waving signs reading “Protect Girls’ Sports” and “Biology Is Not Bigotry.”
The effort follows years of complaints from Maine parents that biologically male athletes identifying as female have displaced girls in track, field, swimming, and other events, costing scholarships and medals. The referendum also comes after the Trump administration’s February executive order withholding certain federal funds from states that allow males in girls’ sports, and a subsequent Department of Justice lawsuit against Maine for non-compliance.
If the signatures are verified, Maine voters will decide in November 2026 whether to enshrine sex-based categories in state law—the latest front in a nationwide debate over fairness and privacy in women’s athletics.
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