Colorado voters to weigh ban on transgender students playing on teams aligned with their gender identities

Colorado voters this November will be asked to weigh a proposed ban on transgender youth and adults from competing on interscholastic or intramural sports teams that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth.

Protect Kids Colorado, the advocacy group backing the initiative, submitted nearly 169,000 signatures to petition the measure onto the ballot. The measure needed about 125,000 to qualify. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office validated the petitions Monday.

The ballot measure seeks to define males and females based on their biological reproductive systems, and prohibit them from competing on K-12 and college sports teams that don’t comport with their sex assigned at birth. The measure would need a simple majority of votes this November to become law in 2027.

Earlier this month, Protect Kids Colorado secured a spot on the ballot for a measure to require life sentences for people convicted of child sex trafficking.

The group has also submitted signatures for a ballot measure that would prohibit gender-affirming surgery for transgender children and minors younger than 18. The Secretary of State’s Office has not yet ruled on that measure.

“What we have accomplished together is only the beginning,” Erin Lee, executive director of Protect Kids Colorado, said in a statement. “More than 3,000 Coloradans from every walk of life, collecting more than half a million signatures, stepped forward with their time, talent and treasure because protecting children is not a partisan issue; it’s a moral one. Two qualified, one more to go!”

The proposed ban on transgender youth competing on teams that match their gender identity immediately drew outcry from Rocky Mountain Equality, an LGBTQ+ rights organization. Mardi Moore, the group’s chief executive officer, said the measure “is not rooted in Colorado values,” and that the legislature has shot down similar measures.

“This is an attack on Colorado families modeled after national extremist efforts. Coloradans believe in fairness, freedom, and the right of every person to live their lives,” Moore said in a statement. “We will work tirelessly between now and November to make sure voters understand exactly what this effort is about. It’s about bullying little kids and taking opportunities away from a handful of people.”

The Colorado High School Activities Association for years has recognized the right of transgender athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identities. Following a lawsuit, however, the organization agreed last year not to penalize school districts with transgender athlete bans.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging the legality of bans on transgender girls and women playing school sports in Idaho and West Virginia. The justices appeared likely to allow states to enact such prohibitions.

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