Colorado Voters Approve Transgender Sports Restriction Measure

Colorado Approves Sports Restriction Measure

Two days after the polls closed, Colorado voters approved a measure restricting which teams transgender athletes may play on, while a second measure targeting gender-affirming surgeries for minors remains poised to pass as well, according to reporting by Denver Post distributed via Tribune Content Agency. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Proposition 134 at 4:12 p.m. Thursday, with roughly 90% of ballots counted. At that point, nearly 53% of voters favored requiring high school and college transgender athletes to play on sports teams matching their birth sex instead of their gender identities.

Proposition 135, which seeks to prohibit surgeries altering biological sex characteristics for individuals under 18, led with 52% of counted votes as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, though the Associated Press had not yet called that contest. Protect Kids Colorado, the primary campaign organization behind both initiatives, declared victory on Wednesday night.

Colorado Voters Approve Transgender Sports Restriction Measure — Photo: arcamax.com

Jen Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics and Proposition 134 issue chair with Protect Kids Colorado, said in a news release that Colorado is now the first blue state — and the first state to enact this protection by a direct vote of the people — to follow the lead of 27 other states and establish clear, single-sex guidelines for female athletics. Girls deserve fair competition, equal opportunity and categories that recognize biological sex. Colorado voters have made their voices heard.

Opposition Vows to Defend Transgender Children as Legislative Battles Loom

Families Not Politics, the leading opposition campaign, conceded defeat on both propositions while stating they would exhaust every available option to defend transgender children’s rights. In a released statement, the group noted that children across the state will face new barriers to medically necessary healthcare and expensive exclusion from full school participation.

Colorado voters poised to PASS measure protecting girls' sports

Both ballot questions are statutory rather than constitutional amendments. This administrative structure means the Colorado legislature must pass specific bills to enact them. While lawmakers rarely reject measures directly passed by voters, incoming Gov.-elect Phil Weiser noted on Wednesday that officials must weigh what remains feasible to administer. Weiser openly opposed both Propositions 134 and 135 during the campaign.

Uncertainty remains regarding the practical scope of these new rules. State records show that no precise count exists for how many transgender athletes currently participate in Colorado high school sports. Health data indicates that no hospitals in the state currently provide gender-affirming surgeries to minors. Nationally, 27 states enforce laws restricting transgender participation on sports teams matching their gender identity, with two additional states enacting similar bans through administrative regulations. Meanwhile, 26 states restrict youth gender-affirming care, though courts have blocked enforcement in two of them, and Arizona restricts only surgical procedures.