Washington voters favor transgender athlete ban, poll finds 

Most Washington state voters back a ballot question that would keep males out of girls’ school sports, a campaign poll found.

Let’s Go Washington, the group behind Initiative 638, released the results last week. Its poll found 56% of likely voters support the measure, 24% oppose it and 20% remain undecided. 

The group said voters read the official ballot title before answering. Support crossed party lines: 73% of Republicans backed it, as did 52% of independents. Nearly half of Democrats (48%) also supported it.

The group said it polled 7,500 likely voters. KUOW reported that the campaign collected responses in August. The campaign hasn’t released its full polling methods or margin of error. 

Hallie Herzberg, a spokeswoman for Let’s Go Washington, told KUOW that some supporters fear speaking publicly.

“They don’t want to be villainized for it,” she said.

Initiative 638 would stop males from playing girls’ sports at public K-12 schools. Private schools participating in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association would also have to follow the measure.

Washington’s current rules let students compete based on their self-selected gender identity. The ballot question would require schools to use anatomical sex to determine who can compete in girls’ sports.

The proposal would also require students entering girls’ sports to provide a form from a health care provider confirming their sex. In athletics, a cheek swab can offer a noninvasive way to determine someone’s sex. 

The provider would have to base that finding on reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup or naturally produced testosterone levels. The measure would make this part of the routine sports physical.

That requirement would apply to all students who want to play girls’ sports.

Some Washington school boards have already pushed to keep girls’ sports female-only.

Last October, Heartlander News reported that the Kennewick School Board unanimously supported a proposed rule change from Lynden School District. 

The proposal would reserve the girls’ category for females and create an open category in which anyone else could participate. Kennewick’s vote didn’t change the rules. The board wanted to get other districts to join its push for the WIAA to act.

Washington had a male transgender athlete, Veronica Garcia, win back-to-back girls’ outdoor track state titles in 2024 and 2025 in the Division 2A 400-meter dash. 

Spectators weren’t happy with his 2024 victory.

“Garcia cheered and clapped for her competitors as they received their medals,” the Spokesman-Review reported. “When the announcer called her to the podium, the crowd fell silent, and the other high school runners at the podium did not acknowledge her as they stood with hands clasped behind their backs.” 

Spectators then booed him in 2025. 

Nationally, most Americans agree with keeping males out of women’s sports.

A February 2025 Pew Research Center poll found that 66% of adults support rules requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams that match their sex. Only 15% opposed those rules. 

Washington Democratic Party spokesman Stephen Reed said the vote could be close.

“What we have seen from our allies is that this will probably be close,” he told KUOW. 

Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood told supporters to keep reaching voters.

“Vote yes to protect fairness in girls’ sports and give parents the right to know,” he said in a statement last week.