Colorado Governor-Elect Phil Weiser Signals Changes to the Girls' Sports Ballot Measure While It Leads 52.66 to 47.34, OutKick Reports
OutKick says Weiser wants to look at 'anti-trans measures' and said he would not accept full body examinations for athletes. Proposition 134 does not set a verification method. Unofficial counts show it ahead, and the Democratic legislature could revise it.
Colorado's next governor is already talking about reworking a ballot measure voters may have just passed, OutKick reports.
What he said. Democrat Phil Weiser, who beat Republican Victor Marx on Tuesday, said Wednesday: "We're going to have to take a look at these anti-trans measures, and what adjustments are necessary and appropriate." He added: "I don't believe it would be acceptable to Colorado to have every student athlete have to go through full body examinations." OutKick's Jackson Thompson says Weiser's remarks, as reported by the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain Voice, covered Proposition 134 and Proposition 135.
The measure. Proposition 134 would require school teams from elementary school through college to be designated male, female or coeducational. Male students would be barred from female teams, and female students could join male teams if no equivalent female team exists. Coeducational teams stay open to all. OutKick notes that it "does not prescribe a particular method for verifying an athlete's biological sex," and the state voter guide says schools and districts would set their own procedures. Proposition 135 restricts surgeries meant to alter minors' sex characteristics.
The count. Ballotpedia's Thursday-morning numbers had 134 at 52.66 percent yes to 47.34 percent no, listed as too close to call and unofficial. OutKick says both measures were leading when Weiser spoke.
Why a change is possible. Both measures are proposed state statutes, not constitutional amendments, so lawmakers can revise them. OutKick cites Colorado Newsline reporting that Democrats won supermajorities in both chambers, and Weiser described reviewing such measures as an appropriate legislative role.
The campaign's view. Lori Gimelshteyn, a board director of Protect Kids Colorado, which led the campaign, told Colorado Public Radio: "This initiative is about fairness, and it's about safety, and it's about girls and keeping female athletics female." OutKick adds that the voter guide flags an open question over how the measure fits with Colorado's anti-discrimination law, which covers gender identity.
Why it matters here. Our earlier coverage of Virginia's governor covers a related fight over a girls' sports rule. Whether Colorado lawmakers will act on 134, and how, is not in the report.
What we could not check. The vote is not final and the Associated Press had not called either measure, per OutKick. We did not see Weiser's full remarks, and the OutKick piece is written from a point of view favorable to the measure.