Maine Girls to Speak Out on Transgender Athletes as Parents Submit Nearly 5,000 More Signatures, a Day Before the Senate Election
Fox News reports the Nov. 2 event in Augusta backs a 2027 ballot question after the first petition fell 532 valid signatures short. Collins and Jackson differ on the issue.
A Maine campaign over girls' sports is back in the news days before the Senate vote, Fox News reports.
The event. Two high school athletes, from Windham High School and Fryeburg Academy, will speak at a news conference at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday, Nov. 2, at the Capitol Welcome Center in Augusta, alongside parents, Alliance Defending Freedom and the Independent Council on Women's Sports (ICONS). Organizers say they will hand in nearly 5,000 additional signatures that day.
The petition. The Protect Girls Sports in Maine committee wants a place on the 2027 ballot for "An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex." It would set school sports and bathroom access by the sex on a student's original birth certificate and let students sue schools over violations. The first effort fell short for this year: organizers filed 79,692 signatures in February, but a challenge left the count under the 67,682 required, in part because 1,520 signatures from four nonresident circulators were thrown out. Maine's highest court upheld that on July 10. The committee says it needs only 532 more and is sending almost 5,000. They still must be reviewed.
The voices. ICONS co-founder Kim Jones said: "There should be no male students on girls' teams, and no male students in girls' restrooms and locker rooms." Maine's Principals' Association has said its policy follows the Maine Human Rights Act, which protects against discrimination based on gender identity.
The Senate link. Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson on Nov. 3. Fox says Collins said in March 2026 that "transgender athletes should not compete in girls' and women's athletics." Jackson voted in 2023 against a bill restricting such participation and answered "No" on an April 2026 questionnaire asking whether he supported a ban.
Note for readers: the claims about girls' experiences come from the organizers' statements. The signatures have not been verified.