Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is throwing his weight behind a new statewide ballot push that would change the state constitution and keep transgender women and girls who were assigned male at birth off girls’ and women’s sports teams. The move has already triggered a courtroom fight in Carson City, even as supporters gear up for a sprint to collect roughly 148,788 valid signatures by June 24 to try to get the question in front of voters this year, as reported by The Nevada Independent.
What The Proposal Would Actually Do
The measure, branded the Protect Girls’ Sports initiative, would carve out an exception to Nevada’s Equal Rights Amendment. It would require public schools and other entities that receive state funds to label teams and competitions as male, female, or coeducational, and it would bar anyone assigned male at birth from playing on girls’ or women’s teams.
Supporters say the change is about competitive fairness and safety for female athletes. Critics counter that it would inject explicit discrimination into the state constitution and could invite invasive verification rules for student-athletes, including potential medical checks. Those contours of the proposal and the debate around it have been detailed by The Nevada Independent.
Petition Filing, Signature Hunt, And The Clock
The Protect Girls’ Sports PAC filed its petition language with the Nevada Secretary of State in early January, and the SOS petitions page lists it among the 2026 measures. To make the ballot this year, though, backers have to clear a high bar: about 148,788 valid signatures statewide, equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last general election, plus minimum signature thresholds in each of Nevada’s four congressional districts by June 24, according to reporting by the SF Chronicle.
Legal Challenge Lands In Carson City Court
Opponents moved quickly to try to shut the effort down. On Jan. 29, Sue Burtch, who leads the Nevada chapter of the National Organization for Women, filed a complaint in the First Judicial District Court asking a judge to toss the petition before signature-gathering really gets going.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the petition invalid and block the secretary of state from ever placing it on a ballot. It argues that the petition’s summary is misleading, that it would require public spending without naming how to pay for it, and that it runs afoul of the separation-of-powers principle. The filings are posted on DocumentCloud.
Plaintiffs want the judge to halt signature collection and any other steps to advance the measure. A hearing is set for Feb. 20, according to The Nevada Independent.
Lombardo’s Play And The Politics Around It
Lombardo is listed as an honorary chair of the Protect Girls’ Sports PAC, a clear signal that this is not just a fringe cause. Supporters say the proposal would give Nevada one uniform statewide rule instead of leaving transgender participation policies in the hands of individual schools and athletic organizations.
Audio captured by local outlets recorded Lombardo saying the petition would “get people out to vote” and that he is helping raise money to get it qualified. His campaign spokeswoman has said he believes that protecting women’s sports is important, as reported by KTNV.
Where School Sports Rules Already Stand
The ballot push comes on the heels of a major policy shift by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, which oversees high school sports. Last year, the NIAA voted to restrict participation based on sex assigned at birth, limiting transgender athletes’ access to teams that match their gender identity.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment point to that decision as proof that Nevada needs a statewide, voter-approved rule instead of an administrative one. The NIAA move stirred controversy across the region and led some schools and districts near the state line to explore alternatives to NIAA governance, according to reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
What Happens Next
All eyes now turn to Carson City on Feb. 20, when a judge will hear arguments on whether the petition can proceed. If the court lets it stand, supporters will have a tight, expensive race to gather enough signatures by the June 24 deadline.
If the initiative survives the legal fight and clears the signature threshold, it could appear on the November 2026 ballot. That would virtually guarantee that transgender participation in school sports becomes a defining issue across Nevada’s 2026 statewide campaigns, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s petitions timeline.
