A statewide ban on transgender students participating in girls’ school sports has passed in Washington state, with the support of 56% of voters. The Associated Press called the race Wednesday night, saying it had enough votes to pass.
The ban would be the first of its kind in Washington state and would require all girls wishing to participate in sports to undergo medical testing – through a genital exam, hormone test or chromosome test – before they can participate on a girls’ school sports team.
Brian Heywood (right) and attendees at the Let’s Go Washington Election Night in Redmond on November 3, 2026.
Freddy Monares / KNKX
“To all trans girls participating in school sports in WA, we want you to know that you belong: on the field, on the field, on the team. We stand with you and will continue to fight for a day when you can play sports without controversy,” said Libby Watson, campaign director for No Hate in WA State, which led opposition to the ban.
Let’s Go Washington, the conservative group behind the initiative, celebrated its early lead in an emailed statement Tuesday evening: “This is a victory for girls…who have been told time and time again by the majority party that their voices and opportunities don’t matter. The opposition has been working overtime to tell these girls that their experiences are made up and don’t matter. Tonight, these girls see that more than a million Washingtonians support them and stand up for themselves. care about their sports being safe and fair.”
At least half of the states in the country have some sort of restriction on trans girls playing sports. But Washington would be one of the first to require medical tests to verify sex at birth. Other banning states only require proof of sex at birth via a birth certificate. It will also become one of the few democratically ruled states to have such a ban in place. Colorado is also set to ban transgender students from sports, alongside Arizona and Nebraska.
For nearly 20 years, Washington has not placed any restrictions on transgender students’ participation in sports. Current state policy allows students to participate on teams that match their gender identity, without additional proof. I-638 would apply to sports regulated by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, which says it knows of about 10 trans kids playing school sports in the state.
Those who support the initiative say a ban is necessary to protect fairness and competition in women’s sports. They claim it is unfair to allow trans girls to compete with cisgender girls. They argue that trans girls have physical advantages that make them faster and stronger, despite a lack of research on school-age athletes and conflicting data on the nature of these advantages and the age at which they begin to appear.
A debate over the participation of transgender students on girls’ school sports teams recently erupted in Camas, after a cross-country runner who competed on a boys’ team switched to a girls’ team. Supporters of a ban cite this case as a reason why regulations need to be put in place.
Opponents of the initiative say it will marginalize trans students and require all girls statewide to undergo unnecessary medical testing in order to play sports. They also worry that the increasing number of tests, especially among girls, could discourage girls from participating in sports.
On election night, Watson said No Hate would explore ways to fight the ban. But she added that the ban could signal a nationwide shift when it comes to transgender rights.
“I think this is a very scary canary in the coal mine for future policies in Washington against the LGBTQ+ community and a dangerous signal for conservative movements across the country,” Watson said.
At the Democratic election watch party at Stoup Brewing, Attorney General Nick Brown also reacted to the initial results of Initiative 638.
“It’s still early to see how this will play out, but my job as attorney general is to defend Washington state’s laws against challenge,” he said. “I suspect there will be legal challenges to all of this, but we will digest them once they arrive.”
ACLU lawyers have vowed to fight the ban with discrimination lawsuits if it passes.
Sarah Mizes-Tan is a journalist at KNKX and KUOW. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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