Voters back girls sports measures in Arizona and Colorado

Ballot measures on girls sports and child protection won in Arizona and Colorado on Tuesday, with additional wins in Nebraska and Washington and petitions now filed in Maine for a 2027 vote. The results give supporters a new foothold in states where the fights were framed around sex-segregated sports and protections for female spaces.

Why it matters: - The ballot results give advocates for girls sports a policy win in two major Western states and broaden the fight ahead of future elections. - The measures also connect sports policy with debates over sex-segregated facilities and child protection. - Supporters say the wins show voter appetite for rules that keep female sports and spaces single sex.

What happened: - Voters approved girls sports measures in Arizona and Colorado on Tuesday, alongside ballot wins in Nebraska and Washington. - Referendum petitions have been filed in Maine for a 2027 election. - Arizona Proposition 318 passed by more than 380,000 votes and carried 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties. - Colorado Proposition 134 won by more than 120,000 votes. - Colorado Proposition 133 passed with 62% of the vote. - Colorado Proposition 135 won by more than 100,000 votes.

The details: - The Arizona and Colorado Protect Girls Sports Act designates sports as Male, Female and Co-Ed. - The Arizona and Colorado measures are intended, supporters say, to ensure fairness for females and opportunity for everyone to play. - The Arizona and Colorado act also requires female athletics-related private spaces to be designated single sex, including bathrooms, locker rooms and showers. - Proposition 133 sets a life-without-parole penalty for buying or selling a child for sex. - Proposition 135 prohibits sex change surgeries on children age 17 and younger. - The Colorado child-protection measures were described as part of a trifecta of wins.

Between the lines: - The margin gap suggests the ballot issues outperformed Republican statewide candidates in both states. - In Arizona, Proposition 318 ran 19% ahead of the GOP gubernatorial nominee and received 312,000 more votes. - In Colorado, the three measures ran 18% to 28% ahead of the GOP gubernatorial nominee and received 418,000 to 647,000 more votes. - Tim Mooney, a campaign consultant to both efforts, said institutional conservative donors failed to fund the campaigns and that grassroots volunteers carried the effort. - Mooney also argued that funding volunteer ballot efforts can help rebuild Republican Party infrastructure and give candidates a platform. - Erin Lee led more than 3,000 volunteers in Colorado, according to Mooney.

What’s next: - Maine could become the next battleground if the referendum petitions qualify for the 2027 election. - Supporters are likely to use the Arizona and Colorado results to push similar measures in future states.

The bottom line: - The election results give girls sports advocates a rare multi-state win and set up a broader fight over how schools and states define sex-based categories and facilities.