# Blue States Colorado and Washington Vote to Restrict Trans Athletes

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/blue-states-colorado-and-washington-vote-to-restrict-trans-athletes
- Published: 2026-11-07T14:02:32.150220+00:00
- Topics: transgender-rights, sports, ballot-measures, lgbtq-issues, 2026-midterms

## What the left says
- These measures could subject all female athletes, not just trans youth, to invasive scrutiny or physical exams to verify their biological sex, creating a chilling and humiliating precedent.
- Colorado's surgery ban denies trans youth and their families access to medical care that major medical associations consider legitimate and sometimes necessary, overriding parents' and doctors' judgment.
- The outcome is especially painful given that Colorado and Washington are among the most LGBTQ-supportive states in the country, suggesting that anti-trans messaging can peel off support even in friendly territory.
- Massive outside spending and national messaging campaigns, not necessarily local sentiment, may have shaped how these ballot measures were framed and understood by voters.

## What the right says
- Title IX and decades of women's athletics progress were built on sex-separated competition, and allowing biological males to compete undermines fairness built for female athletes.
- Personal accounts of athletes injured or displaced from rosters and championships by biologically male competitors show these policies have real, direct consequences for girls and women.
- Grassroots parent-led organizing, not big-money campaigns, drove these wins — supporters of the measures were vastly outspent by opponents yet still succeeded.
- The fact that these measures passed in reliably blue states shows that protecting women's sports categories is a mainstream position that crosses party lines, not a fringe right-wing cause.

## Common ground
- Colorado's Proposition 134 and 135 and Washington's Initiative 638 all passed with majority support, each roughly 52% to 57%.
- Both sides recognize these results are notable precisely because Colorado and Washington are considered reliably Democratic and LGBTQ-supportive states.
- Supporters and opponents agree the ballot measures will have real effects on trans youth's ability to participate in school sports and, in Colorado, access certain medical procedures.
- Both sides acknowledge this issue cut across the broader 2026 midterm results, in which Democrats otherwise made substantial gains nationally.

## Sources
- [AllSides](https://www.allsides.com/news/2026-11-06-0800/lgbtq-issues-two-blue-states-voted-against-trans-youth-sports) (Center)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/co-prop-135-gender-surgery) (Right)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/lifestyle/no-league-of-their-own-trans-athletes-force-women-to-fight-for-what-they-ve-already-won) (Right)
- [Blaze Media](https://www.theblaze.com/news/common-sense-prevails-washington-voters-buck-blue-wave-on-girls-sports) (Right)
- [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/11/06/voters-in-4-states-including-deep-blue-washington-and-colorado-kick-trans-athletes-out-of-girls-sports/) (Unknown)
- [Daily Wire](https://www.dailywire.com/news/deep-blue-state-defies-odds-to-save-girls-sports-and-stop-child-gender-surgeries) (Right)
- [Daily Wire](https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-footage-shows-armed-marine-vet-hero-stopping-citibank-massacre) (Right)
- [HuffPost](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trans-youth-sports-ballot-initiatives-2026-elections_n_6ae8d3a1e4b0b1f508d5c3d2) (Left)
- [Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion](https://legalinsurrection.com/2026/11/washington-colorado-vote-to-ban-men-from-womens-sports/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=washington-colorado-vote-to-ban-men-from-womens-sports) (Unknown)

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