Secretary of State Shenna Bellows argued that a referendum aiming to ban transgender girls from girls’ school sports has enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, but the margin is tight with more challenges pending.
The Democratic secretary of state said a court should reject a host of challenges from three Mainers who sued last month aiming to invalidate thousands of signatures gathered by the referendum effort, according to a brief recently filed by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Bolton.
The challenge is strangely putting Bellows, a progressive gubernatorial candidate, on the side of a conservative referendum that aims to bar transgender girls from girls sports teams and private spaces that align with their gender identities. It has been a prominent issue in Maine politics since Gov. Janet Mills’ White House confrontation with President Donald Trump last year.
Supporters of the measure submitted almost 80,000 signatures. Bellows said last month that more than 71,000 were valid. To reach the ballot, 67,682 valid signatures are required. But the secretary of state conceded on several of the citizens’ challenges to blocs of signatures, Bolton said in a court filing.
If the court agrees with all of Bellows’ potential concessions, 3,014 of the 71,000 ballots could be invalidated. The attorney general’s office argued the final total would still cross the constitutional threshold for a ballot referendum by just over 300 votes.
That would leave the referendum proponents with a narrow path through the rest of the challenges. If the court finds the petition’s validity might hinge on two remaining challenges brought by Augusta resident Jane Gilbert, Bellows would not oppose the court holding off on a final decision to allow for further review, the attorney general’s office said.
David Farmer, campaign manager for Equity Maine, said it’s telling that the secretary conceded on up to 3,000 signatures. He added that while the AG’s office makes the case that most of the citizens’ challenges are wrong, “that doesn’t mean the court will agree.”
“This ballot question is hanging on by a thread,” he said.
Several circulators were observed leaving their petitions unattended, and in some cases “witnesses allege that voters signed the petitions while the circulator was absent,” Gilbert said. She also questioned dozens of signatures gathered by two circulators she characterized as “suspicious” and potential forgeries.
Bellows found the initial information provided by Gilbert was “insufficient to conduct a meaningful investigation,” though she acknowledged an inquiry may be justified based on supplemental affidavits, video and photos provided by Gilbert. The attorney general’s office said the challenge could only be resolved through further factfinding.
“While the secretary does not take any position as to whether either circulator engaged in wrongdoing, she agrees that further investigation on remand may be warranted if the signatures on petitions by these circulators prove to be outcome determinative,” Bolton said.
A lawyer for the group behind the initiative, Protect Girls Sports in Maine, was not immediately available to discuss the signatures. Leyland Streiff, a lead organizer for the effort, said the referendum aims to reverse “regressive, discriminatory and illegal” policies.
