Ballot measure · Maine · November 3, 2026

I.B. 3

Title as the state lists it: An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex1,2

Research draftCitizen initiativeState law
How it got there
Citizen initiative
Kind of measure
State law
To pass
A majority of the votes on it
Researched
October 27, 2026

Research draft. We gathered this from official sources on October 27, 2026: election offices, state laws and court records, each linked to its source. Separate reviewers checked a random sample of 48 facts from the ballot-measure research against the cited sources and found no errors. The rest hasn't been reviewed fact by fact yet, so check the linked source before relying on anything here.

§1What your vote means

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

A yes vote

A yes vote would require public schools and school sports bodies to label teams as boys', girls' or coeducational, limit girls' and boys' teams to students recorded at birth as that sex on their original birth certificate, let girls join boys' teams when no girls' team exists in a sport, require separate restrooms, locker rooms and showers for each sex, and let harmed students sue.2 Sec. 2, 20-A MRSA sec. 4017

A no vote

A no vote would keep current law, under which the Maine Human Rights Act bars educational discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, including in athletic programs, and state law does not assign school teams, restrooms or locker rooms by sex recorded at birth or give students a right to sue under such rules.2,3 5 MRSA sec. 4602, sub-sec. 1

More about it

The bill states that separating teams and private spaces by sex under it is not unlawful discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act, and that students born with a difference in sex development keep all protections under federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act.2 Sec. 1; Sec. 2, sub-secs. 6-7 If approved, the law would take effect on January 1, 2027.2 Sec. 3

§2How it got on the ballot

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Citizen initiative. Voters proposed it by signing a petition.1,2

State law. It would change state law, not the constitution.1,2

The Secretary of State sent this initiated bill (L.D. 2239) to the Legislature on March 18, 2026; the Legislature did not enact it before adjourning on April 29, 2026, and the constitution sends an initiative not enacted without change to the voters at a November election in the year the petition was filed.1,2,4 L.D. 2239 cover page; last House action 4/29/2026; Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, sec. 18(2)-(3)

It is on Maine's list of statewide measures for November 3, 2026.1,2,4,5,6 None of the official sources we read calls the list certified or final, so we don’t either. What we couldn't confirm about the list is in the notes on Maine's measures.

§3What it needs to pass

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

A majority of the votes on it. The initiated bill becomes law if a majority of the votes cast on it are yes.4 Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, sec. 19