maine Election officials spent hours Tuesday reviewing whether the proposed voting plan would target: transgender Students must qualify to vote in November and voting will resume. politically The explosive battle over transgender rights has turned the state into a national battleground.
The hearing focused on whether referendum supporters improperly collected petition signatures, Spectrum News report. The controversy could decide whether voters decide this fall whether transgender students can participate in schools. sports You have access to bathrooms and locker rooms depending on your gender identity.
At issue is a civic initiative supported by Protect Girls Sports of Maine that would require public schools to designate sports teams and single-sex facilities based on gender assigned at birth. The measure would also impose legal liability on schools accused of allowing transgender students to participate in girls’ sports or use girls’ facilities.
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Opponents argued Tuesday that thousands of petition signatures should be invalidated because some petitions were allegedly abandoned, Spectrum News reported. business It is used in a public place rather than being directly supervised by a circulator, as required by Maine law.
The Secretary of State’s office now has until May 26 to make a new determination on whether there are enough valid signatures left to qualify for the ballot.
The hearing followed a court order by Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Thomas McKeon directing election officials to reexamine the campaign’s signatures after opponents argued the state did not adequately investigate allegations of improper distribution practices.
According to Spectrum News, Secretary of State Shena Bellows previously certified that the campaign had submitted enough valid signatures, with more than 71,000 acceptable and about 3,300 above the ballot access threshold.
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as defender It was recently reported that conservative activists across the country are increasingly shifting away from legislative fights over transgender rights to voting campaigns aimed directly at voters. Similar measures regarding transgender athletes, bathrooms, and gender-affirming care are moving forward in the following states: colorado, washingtonand missouri.
The strategy reflects a growing effort by anti-trans activists to bypass state legislatures, where some proposals have stalled, and instead campaign directly at voting booths.
This dynamic has been compared to the push for a statewide constitutional ban in the early 2000s. marriage equality.
“This is reminiscent of 2004 and the marriage equality strategy,” said Alana Jochum, a transgender equality advocate. Defender. “Our opponents are turning to an old strategy of scapegoating small populations.”
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Maine’s referendum comes after months of heated conflict between Maine leaders and President Donald Trump’s administration over transgender student-athletes. Earlier this year, President Trump criticized states that allow transgender girls to compete in girls’ school sports, but Democratic Gov. Janet Mills defended Maine’s policy and vowed to abide by state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
