Seattle Moves To Block Girls’ Sports Vote That Won 36 Of 39 Counties

Authored by Jonathan Turley via Jonathan Turley,

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced that she and the city would back the Seattle School Board’s unanimous vote to begin legal action to block enforcement of Initiative 638, which requires separating boys and girls in K-12 sports in Washington state. 

Voters overwhelmingly approved the initiative in 36 of the state’s 39 counties. Critics have charged that Wilson and other Seattle Democrats are seeking to negate the popular vote after campaigning on “saving democracy.” The greater challenge, however, is the legal basis for such an action in light of recent Supreme Court rulings.

Wilson issued a statement that she would back the School Board in refusing to accept the result of the election in order to maintain “a Seattle where every person is welcomed, supported, and valued, and where all young people can thrive as their authentic selves.”

I support the Seattle Public Schools Board’s decision to challenge Initiative 638, because every young person in Seattle deserves to thrive as their authentic self. pic.twitter.com/QBQbNRsBnR

— Mayor Katie Wilson (@MayorofSeattle) November 10, 2026

The question is the grounds for such an action and whether the Board will burn millions on a quixotic challenge that could establish even more negative precedent for blue states on the issue.

The Court recently handed down decisions in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, ruling in favor of such state limits. The Court specifically ruled that states can exclude transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports teams. Indeed, the justices ruled unanimously that laws enacted by Idaho and West Virginia rejected federal civil rights challenges.

The Kavanaugh decision states that “[c]onsistent with Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, we hold that the States may maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females. They may determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex. The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America.”

That decision followed a 6-3 decision in United States v. Skrmetti, where the Court upheld a Tennessee law banning the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy by transgender teenagers.

In the Kavanaugh opinion, the Court accepted that men and women have “inherent physical differences” that are “relevant to athletic performance.” It accepted the view of these states that “forcing female athletes to compete against males can create significant safety risks” in contact sports. It also found that “in virtually all competitive sports, forcing female athletes to compete against males can undermine competitive fairness.”

Thus, neither the Constitution nor Title IX are viable bases for an attack on the Washington initiative. In light of those decisions, the question is how the Board and the City will fashion its challenge to the election results on Initiative 638.

Jonathan Turley is the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.” He teaches a course on the Constitution and the Supreme Court.