Mainers may no longer be voting this November on a ballot question to restrict the rights of transgender students to access bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams aligning with their gender identity. 

That’s because a state official determined that petitioners did not collect enough valid signatures, falling 500 short of the minimum required threshold to qualify for a citizen-led ballot initiative. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien, who presided over a hearing last week to determine signature validity, is recommending to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office that more than 12,000 signatures that may have been collected improperly be invalidated, the office confirmed on May 21.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows will issue a final decision May 26.

The ballot initiative seeks to require sports teams and school facilities to be separated by biological sex as opposed to gender identity, is at odds with the Maine Human Rights Act. 

Tim Woodcock, an attorney with Eaton Peabody representing the petition campaign, said they are reviewing the recommended decision closely. “We are continuing our defense of the Protect Girls Sports ballot measure and will be filing our objections to the recommended decision before the May 23 deadline,” Woodcock said.

The campaign’s signature gathering practices were cast into doubt when three challengers claimed that 7,900 signatures previously deemed valid by the Secretary of State’s Office should be disqualified in Superior Court. On April 24, Justice Deborah Cashman remanded the challenge to the Secretary of State’s Office for a final determination. Last week, McBrien and Assistant Attorney General Jon Bolton held an hours-long hearing during which both sides presented their arguments. 

Over the course of the hearing, a pattern of negligence within the campaign emerged, with signature collectors admitting to leaving forms unattended, among other infractions. 

“There were some significant areas of concern around the signature gathering practices here, and the rules exist to make sure that only a sufficient number of valid signatures are submitted,” said Ben Stafford, a partner in the national legal firm Elias Law Group representing the challengers of the “Protect Girls Sports” petition. “That didn’t happen here.”

McBrien sent her determination that 67,150 signatures were valid and 12,542 were invalid to both parties’ attorneys.

The number of signatures required to place the petition question on the November ballot is 67,682. The parties have until Saturday at midnight to respond.

How the signatures were deemed invalid

Much of the hearing focused on signature gatherers leaving petitions behind unattended, which several community members documented and attested to. It also called into question some campaign workers who failed to sign a circulator’s affidavit until months after the signatures were submitted to the secretary of state.

More than 3,800 signatures were deemed invalid by McBrien through the hearing process, including 1,037 due to unattended petitions and more than 2,300 due to a missing circulator’s affidavit.

“We think that those determinations are very well founded by both actual record that has been presented and bolstered at this point, and then the underlying legal standards,” Stafford said.

This story was first published by the Maine Morning Star and is republished here under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

PORTLAND (WGME)– A ballot initiative seeking to prevent transgender students from playing girls sports in Maine may not be on the November ballot after all.

A Maine Deputy Secretary of State now says the initiative no longer has enough valid signatures.

Facing time constraints, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows initially validated 72,000 of the nearly 80,000 signatures gathered in support of the “Protect Girls Sports” ballot initiative. As a result, the Secretary of State approved the referendum for the November ballot.

But after a challenge to more of those signatures, including some with invalid dates and others that appear to be signed by the same person, a judge ordered a closer examination of the petitions. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien says they’ve now found more than 4,800 additional invalid signatures.

“Because the number of valid signatures is now short of the required number by 532 signatures, I find the petition to be invalid,” McBrien said.

“It seems like this group didn’t follow the rules,” Gia Drew of Equality Maine said

Drew says there’s also evidence that some petition tables were unmanned while people were signing.

“Very obvious by the evidence that was presented that the folks who were doing this didn’t do that job,” Drew said.

At this point, the referendum is still approved for the November ballot. Bellows has yet to issue a final ruling.

Protect Girls Sports in Maine says it is now reviewing the deputy’s recommendation.

“We are continuing our defense of the Protect Girls Sports ballot measure and will be filing our objections to the recommended decision before the May 23 deadline.”

“We’re confident that the petition-gathering process was well done,” Protect Girls Sports in Maine attorney Tim Woodcock said. “And we’re confident that in the end, petition signatures that were gathered were done in sufficient number to withstand this challenge.”

At last count, only two transgender students were playing girls sports in Maine.

“There are far more pressing issues, I think, than a trans kid playing sports. I do think this is a political move by some folks to drive their base out to vote, which I think is short-sighted, narrow-minded and puts kids in harm’s way,” Drew said.

Bellows plans to hold a news conference on Tuesday, where she will announce her decision on the Protect Girls Sports in Maine referendum.

The growing season has arrived in Maine, so it’s time to grab the shovels and start planting.

“Your veggies, herbs, perennials, your annuals, kind of across the board, it’s safe to put those in at this point,” says Grace Frost, the Operations Manager for Highland Farms.

It all starts with good soil health, that’s the foundation to a thriving garden.

“Whether your soil is a little older and you need to add in kind a little refresh of compost or maybe topping off your planters with some potting soil, or topping off your raised beds. Refilling that out and refreshing it for the season before popping anything else in will help give you a good footing for that planting.”

Removing any weeds from the soil is also important.

And grace says it’s a good idea to fertilize your garden in the spring when you’re initially planting to give them a jump start into the season.

As the growing season arrives in Maine, it’s important to take the necessary steps for a successful season. (WGME)

“A lot of the synthetic fertilizers, you can overdo it with them butted and those can burn the plants if you overapply. But organic fertilizers, usually those will be the brown liquids or the slow-release are built to slowly release, and they’re a little less harsh on the plants.”

Also, adding a layer of mulch on top of your garden bed has many benefits.

“Other than the weed suppression, it also helps to keep your garden beds stay cool in the summer. So it keeps the roots of your plants from cooking in the hot, hot heat. And then it helps with moisture retention, too.”

As the growing season arrives in Maine, it’s important to take the necessary steps for a successful season. (WGME)

You’ll want to make sure your plants have enough water as well, so it’s a good idea to check the moisture in your soil often.