Left-leaning Washington and Colorado join more conservative states in banning transgender athletes

Voters in left-leaning Washington state and Colorado have approved measures designed to ban transgender athletes from participating in school-sanctioned sports.

What happened

Measure 638 in Washington. It had more than 56% of the vote, will prevent students who were assigned male at birth from participating in sports designated for female athletes. The measure additionally requires athletes wanting to play in female sports to produce a statement from a health care provider verifying their gender.

Proposition 134 in Colorado will require educational institutions and athletic associations to assign sports as male, female or coed. The proposal, which was backed by 52% of voters, will additionally limit athletes to playing in sports in the gender they were assigned at birth.

In practice, the votes came in states where Democratic-led governors' offices and legislatures have declined to enact the kind of bans that have become the norm in Republican-led states.

The bottom line

In short, left-leaning Washington and Colorado join more conservative states in banning transgender athletes is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.