Colorado and Washington Voters Will Decide Whether Girls' Sports Belong to Girls. Fairness Is on the Ballot.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Voters in Colorado and Washington, two reliably Democratic states, will decide on Nov. 3 whether to keep biological boys out of girls' school sports. Elected officials in both states have rejected such bans, so activists went around them to put the question on the ballot. Though the issue has been debated in many legislatures, this is the first time it is going to voters, the Associated Press reported in a story published by ABC News.

What is on the ballot

Colorado's Proposition 134 would require student athletes on school and college teams to compete on men's or women's teams that match their sex, defined by biological reproductive systems. Washington's Initiative 638 would require school districts and athletic groups to "prohibit biologically male students from competing with and against female students," and would require girls seeking to play girls' sports to provide health care documentation verifying their sex, according to Ballotpedia. Arizona and Nebraska also have sports measures on the ballot this year.

The Washington measure says a health care provider must verify a student's sex relying on "reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels." A spokeswoman for Let's Go Washington, the group behind it, said, "We see that as being as simple as a checkbox." Dr. Libby Loft, who opposes the measure, says it would require a genital inspection or expensive testing, the AP reported.

Where the country stands

The AP counts 27 states with laws restricting transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports. Ballotpedia, which also counts regulations and athletic association rules, puts the number at 29. A June Quinnipiac University poll found that about 7 in 10 registered voters think transgender women and girls should not be allowed to play on female sports teams, while about one-quarter think they should. Democrats were split about evenly, according to the AP.

The AP noted that the number of transgender girls in school sports is believed to be small. Let's Go Washington says it has counted 16 such athletes in the state, while the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association counts about 101,000 girls in the sports it oversees, a figure that double-counts girls who play more than one sport, according to the AP.

Money is flowing on both sides. Groups opposing the Colorado measures have raised nearly $4 million, more than 20 times what supporters have brought in. In Washington, Let's Go has raised more than $7.8 million for three measures, nearly twice what ban opponents have raised, the AP reported.

The voices

Ahnaleigh Wilson, a 17-year-old junior at Eastmont High School, told the AP she won all her 1,600-meter races in seventh and eighth grade until she finished second to a transgender athlete at a major meet. "I knew it wasn't right and it wasn't fair," she said. Nadine Bridges of One Colorado, which leads the opposition there, said, "I don't understand how you can protect kids and discriminate against kids at the same time," the AP reported.

Opinion: Fairness for girls is not hate

This should not be a hard question, and for most Americans it is not. Seven in 10 voters already agree. Boys and girls are different, and the difference shows up on the track and in the pool. That is why we have girls' sports to begin with. "Male and female created he them," Scripture says, and nature has not changed its mind.

A girl like Ahnaleigh Wilson should not have to argue for a spot on the podium she earned. Title IX was written so girls would get their own fair shot. Letting boys into that space does not widen opportunity. It takes it from the girls it was meant to protect.

The opponents raise one fair concern, and it should be taken seriously. No family wants a daughter put through an intrusive exam just to join the volleyball team. Supporters say a doctor's checkbox will do, and if the measure passes, schools and lawmakers should make sure that is what happens. Protecting girls means protecting their privacy, too.

The numbers are small, as opponents point out, but fairness is not measured by headcount. One stolen title is one too many for the girl who lost it. And the students at the center of this, the ones who believe they are someone they are not, deserve compassion, not cruelty. Christians can hold the line on truth and still treat every child with kindness. Both are commands.

Whatever happens in Colorado and Washington, voters there finally get to answer the question their leaders would not. That is how self-government should work. Vote, and pray for wisdom for every voter. For another look at faith and this election, read Clergy to Serve as Poll Chaplains in Nine States on Election Day.