SEATTLE – Washington voters appear to have passed an initiative barring transgender athletes from competing in K-12 girls sports.
Meanwhile, an initiative to amend which information a school must disclose about a student and when appears to be heading to defeat.
Initiative 638, which would bar students it defines as “biologically male” from competing in K-12 sports meant for girls, received 56.8% of the vote in the initial election results.
Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, who sponsored all three initiatives on the ballot this year, said in a statement the result was a win for girls who “have been told time and again by the majority party that their voices and opportunities don’t matter.”
“The opposition was working overtime to tell these girls that their experiences were made up and didn’t matter. Tonight, those girls see that well over a million Washingtonians stand with them and care that their sports are safe and fair,” Heywood said. “Voters have your backs. Five years from now, I hope girl athletes don’t know this fight took place, because that will mean that boys know their place is not in girls’ sports.”
Libby Watson, No Hate WA State campaign manager, said in a statement the campaign is hopeful that after more ballots are counted, I-638, which she said was an “attempt to scapegoat a handful of vulnerable trans children,” would be defeated.
“Washington is a state that respects and supports its neighbors and its children, and we hope the votes will prove that in the coming days,” Watson said in a statement.
About 20 minutes before the polls closed on Tuesday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, spoke to opponents of both initiatives at a watch party at music venue Neumos on Capitol Hill in Seattle, where she said “we’re gonna start planning how to overturn these bad initiatives.”
“And how we go back to loving everybody the way we have done with gender inclusivity in our state for decades,” Jayapal said. “This was never an issue until a bloody millionaire hedge fund owner came into our state and tried to make it one.”
Washington voters, however, are rejecting an initiative from Let’s Go Washington that tried to adopt a “parent’s bill of rights” in the state, something it first passed in an initiative to the Legislature during the 2024 session.
The initiative this year would have enshrined a parent’s right to prior notification of medical services offered to their child outside of emergencies, prior notification of medical services or medications that could affect health insurance costs, and a right to prior notification when the school arranges medical treatments that require follow-up care after school hours.
The initiative also would repeal several changes adopted by the Legislature to the first initiative, including a prohibition of discrimination of a protected class, and the ability for parents to file complaints on behalf of students.
Ahead of the election, Democratic State Rep. Monica Stonier, a teacher in Vancouver who authored the legislation that amended the initial parental initiative, said the original initiative broadly described parents’ rights, many of which were already state law, something lawmakers did not oppose restating. While supporters have made similar arguments this time, Stonier said the new initiative language went much further.
Following the release of initial election results, Watson said the election marked “the largest political expenditure by one small set of very rich extremists on one issue, ever: demonizing transgender children.”
“Thanks to the brave voices of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors and victim advocates who told the truth about the impacts of these initiatives on all children, voters have rejected I-001,” Watson said.
Ana Ruiz Kennedy, the Children’s Campaign Fund’s political table campaign manager, said in a statement the campaign is “grateful to thousands of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors and advocates for victims of abuse and sexual assault who spoke up to tell the truth about the harmful impacts of these initiatives on all children.”
“We’re proud of the coalition we have built during the course of this campaign, and we promise to redouble our efforts to ensure the Evergreen State will remain a great place to live, work, and raise children of every color, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and gender,” Kennedy said.
Source: www.spokesman.com
