Arizona Voters Approve Women’s Sports Transgender Ban Despite Voting For Democrats Statewide

Arizona voters approved Proposition 318, restricting transgender athletes to competing on teams based on biological sex, even as they re-elected Democratic governor Katie Hobbs and other Democratic statewide officeholders. The result shows that voters in the state made different choices on the ballot measure and in statewide races.

The initiative received 59% of the vote, while Hobbs, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes each won 55%, according to figures reported on Wednesday. Proposition 318 extends restrictions already applying to public schools to private schools and college athletics, and also addresses access to locker rooms and bathrooms. The article says similar measures passed in Nebraska, while proposals in Colorado and Washington were leading; it also cites an AP-NORC poll in which fewer than 10% of voters called transgender issues among their most important concerns, compared with 80% for the economy or cost of living.