“Secretary of State Shenna Bellows issued a final decision regarding challenges filed against the petitions filed by proponents of the citizen initiative titled ‘An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex’ and remanded to the Secretary of State office for further review.”

“The hearing to consider new evidence was held on May 12 and 13, 2026. Secretary Bellows accepted the recommendation of her staff, which found that on the 8,067 petition forms filed with the Secretary of State, 67,150 signatures are valid, and 12,542 signatures are invalid. Because the number of signatures required to determine the petition to be valid is 67,682, the petition was found to be invalid. While some arguments by the petitioners were rejected for insufficient evidence, and those challenged signatures were permitted, other signatures were invalidated based on evidence presented during the hearing and follow-up investigation. Following an additional review of challenged petitions and signatures, the Secretary of State’s office found signatures to be invalid due to circulators failing to witness registered voters signing petition forms and other signatures rejected as signed by another. The decision is final, pending appeal which must occur within ten days of the determination. Because of the possibility of appeal, the Office of Secretary of State will announce the final wording of the question should it appear on the ballot in November on Thursday, as required by Maine Statute,” said the Maine Secretary of State’s office on Tuesday.

Well that sure sucks for Susan Collins if Republicans can’t get this back on the ballot.