(Washington Stand) An initiative to end discrimination against young girls in sports will be voted on this November in Washington state.
Washington Initiative 638, the Sex Verification Requirements for Female School Sports Initiative, would require school districts and certain nonprofit organizations to “prohibit biologically male students from competing with and against female students” in athletics with separate teams or individual competitions for male and female students. The ballot initiative would also require document verification from a health care provider certifying “the student’s biological sex [based on] ... reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels” for students who wish to participate in female sports.
This is the first voter referendum of its type in Washington, which has Democratic leadership and is home to Seattle, one of the most progressive cities in America. Polling from August 2026 conducted by the political action committee Let’s Go Washington revealed that the initiative has strong support among voters.