Voters in four states, including deep blue Colorado and Washington, approved bans on men in women’s sports, but Democrat lawmakers and progressive advocacy groups are already plotting legislative and court challenges.
The left is fond of talking about our “sacred democracy.” It’s why leftists push “direct democracy” and are always eager to be seen defending the people’s voice, even as they routinely characterize the right as an “existential threat” to democracy.
The left champions the national popular vote over the Electoral College, for example, and has long used ballot measures to skirt the legislative process.
But last Tuesday, election night, democracy didn’t go as planned.
Amid a surging wave for Democrat candidates and progressive priorities, voters in Nebraska, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington went rogue by passing ballot measures that fully ban males from women’s sports.
Democracy won, right? Wrong. Instead of accepting these results, Democrats in two states immediately announced that they will attempt to overthrow the will of the people so men and boys can continue to enter women’s private spaces and steal their athletic victories.
So much for the sacred vote.
What the Measures Do
The four measures that triggered this response are clear. Each of the approved ballot measures, written in direct and plain English, proscribe that all K-12 (and in some cases, college) sports teams must be classified as male, female, or coed, and athletes must compete according to their biological sex.
Arizona’s Prop 318, which passed with nearly 59 percent of the vote, expands the state’s Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act to all schools through college. The law, which was previously limited to public schools, also required that athletes use the bathroom, locker room, and shower of their sex.
It was previously blocked in court by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after Attorney General Kris Mayes, D, refused to defend it; however, after the Supreme Court’s decisions in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox affirming the constitutionality of state bans on men in women’s sports, the law was allowed to go into effect.
In Nebraska, Initiative 442 actually amends the state’s constitution to ban males from female sports, whereas the other three states’ measures were all statutory. This will make the amendment more difficult to reverse, especially since a whopping 67 percent of voters voted to pass it.
However, the biggest shock came in deep blue Colorado and Washington state.
In Colorado, Prop 134, a citizen-led initiative to amend the law, received 52 percent of the vote in a state infamous for its attempts to force Christian business owners to affirm and participate in LGBTQ ideology.
Yet the issue of protecting girls’ sports obviously resonated with the electorate, which chose to determine eligibility by sex all the way through college. Boys can’t ever play on girls’ teams, and girls are only allowed to play on boys’ teams if no girls’ team is available.
In Washington, 56 percent of voters chose to approve Initiative 638, which statutorily restricts K-12 athletic eligibility to biological sex and requires a signed statement from the child’s healthcare provider testifying to the child’s sex.
Why Such Strong Support?
These votes demonstrate clear public sentiment for common sense. Recent polling shows that 79 percent of Americans, including 67 percent of Democrats, think men who claim to be women should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
Prior to the midterms, 29 states had already passed laws banning transgender participation in women’s sports; if the Colorado and Washington ballot measures hold up, the number will be 31.
The issue has become a touchstone following numerous stories of men defeating or injuring girls during what is supposed to be female-only athletics.
Former male swimmer Will “Lia” Thomas sparked the movement to protect women’s sports when he began identifying as a female and crushed the competition as a member of UPenn’s women’s team, winning a 2022 NCAA Division 1 National Championship race in the process.
Peyton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player, was injured after being forced to compete against a male who spiked the ball into her face with such force that she was concussed and knocked unconscious. She continues to deal with the long-term impact of those injuries, including partial paralysis, impaired vision, and headaches.
The world watched when two male boxers competed against women in the 2024 Olympics. Perhaps no scene depicts the horror of males competing in women’s sports more than Imane Khelif battering a helpless Angela Carini, who withdrew from the fight in less than a minute, bloodied and beaten. Khelif won gold at the Olympics.
In Washington State, a male who uses the name Veronica Garcia was booed after he “won” his second straight state title in the girls’ 400-meter dash.
And it’s hardly a wonder why. Males possess physical advantages in athletics that most people instinctively recognize. Men have greater heart and lung capacity, denser muscles, bigger hands, longer legs and arms, more testosterone, and many other characteristics making competition against females not just unfair but inherently dangerous.
That recognition played out at the ballot box. In Arizona and Colorado, not even massive outside money brought in by LGBTQ proponents could defeat the ballot initiatives.
In Colorado, opponents of the ban spent more than $5 million to try to defeat Prop 134 while supporters spent just over $300,000. In Arizona, transgender advocates spent over $870,000 compared to less than $4,000 spent by supporters.
And the defeats came while Democrats were enjoying a dominating electoral performance. In Nebraska, Arizona, and Colorado, which each had a gubernatorial race, the ballot initiatives outperformed Republican candidates by 16 to 19 points.
Is Democracy Getting Benched?
So how have the defenders of democracy responded to these clear mandates? By trying to overturn the votes. Washington Rep. Pramila Jaypal, D, said, “We are going to take our state back. We’re going to start planning for how we overturn these bad initiatives and how we go back to loving everyone with gender inclusivity the way we have for decades.”
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington Democratic Party added, “The fight over I-638 is just beginning. We believe this initiative is unconstitutional on its face and support organizations planning to challenge it in court.”
In Colorado, Gov.-elect Phil Weiser had already warned in June that if the ballot measure passed, “The legislature is going to have to fix it and provide a much more human and sound approach.” He reiterated after the election that “adjustments are necessary and appropriate.”
And rest assured “adjustments” will be made.
In Colorado all that is required to amend or repeal a ballot-created statute after its passing is a majority vote in the Colorado General Assembly, which is fully controlled by a supermajority of Democrats.
In Washington State, numerous activist groups, including the ACLU Washington, Planned Parenthood, pro-LGBT groups, and even schools, have already announced plans to challenge the measure in court, claiming it is unconstitutional. Courts can and have halted ballot measures in the past and could do so again.
A two-thirds vote in the legislature is required to amend a ballot initiative in Washington, at least for the first two years; following that, only a majority is needed. At present, Democrats hold 60 and 61 percent of the Washington House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate, respectively, just shy of the number needed to immediately overturn the new statute, hence the impending court challenge.
Citizens can introduce a competing ballot measure at any time, except in Nebraska where they must wait three years.
Democracy for Me, But Not for Thee
The message from the left is obvious: Direct democracy is sacred when it’s used to advance leftist priorities, but when direct democracy is used by those who disagree with those priorities, democracy is illegitimate and must be reversed.
Generally, conservatives do not favor ballot measures because they disrupt the intended legislative system. The United States is not a democracy; it is a federalist republic, wherein the people’s elected representatives make the laws, not whoever can get the most motivated voters to go to the polls in a single election.
Ballot measures are notoriously confusing and are decided by a small percentage of the populace. But the left has long utilized them as the voice of the people. Most recently, they have leveraged them to make abortion a constitutional right up to birth in a growing number of states.
But when the people’s voice says something they don’t want to hear? Well, direct democracy isn’t so sacred anymore.
If you like this article and other content that helps you apply a biblical worldview to today’s politics and culture, consider making a donation here.
