“It’s giving a voice to those that felt like they didn’t have a voice.”
The Associated Press has projected that Washington voters approved Initiative 638, the measure protecting girls’ school sports by prohibiting biological males from competing in female competition.
The tally accompanying the projection showed 1,252,863 yes votes, or 56.6 percent, against 961,810 no votes, or 43.4 percent. Only four of Washington’s 39 counties, King, Jefferson, San Juan and Whatcom, had majority opposition in the reported returns.
I-638 would prohibit biological males from competing in designated female K–12 athletic activities and require healthcare providers to verify biological sex. The Legislature declined to act on the initiative during its 2026 session, sending the proposal to voters.
Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad is planning a court challenge, setting up another fight over the measure after voters backed it statewide.
Conrad told KUOW she plans to fight the measure in court and work to overturn it if it passes.
“Washington state now has one of the worst anti-LGBT, anti-trans initiatives, truly, in the entire country,” Conrad said. “It’s so horrific that people wouldn’t allow themselves to really grasp how real this is.”
Conrad acknowledged Democrats could have done more to oppose the initiative. KUOW noted that a party spokesperson had said the previous month that Democrats were focusing more heavily on other ballot measures.
That prospect of a court challenge was precisely what Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood anticipated when he spoke with KVI at the organization’s election-night party Tuesday.
“I would expect what I really expect from Chris Reykdal is to follow the frickin’ law,” Heywood said, directing his message at Washington’s superintendent of public instruction.