Federal lawsuit challenges Maine secretary of state’s decision on trans sports referendum

 Surrounded by boxes filled with signed petitions, Sofia Pride of Falmouth, makes a statement during a press conference at the Maine State House in Augusta in February. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) A federal lawsuit filed this week is challenging Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ decision to invalidate several hundred signatures in support of a referendum aimed at limiting the ability of transgender students to participate in school sports. The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland, was brought by a signature gatherer and three people who signed petitions in support of the referendum. It argues that Bellows wrongly relied on a 2020 court order establishing the terms for out-of-state signature collectors. The suit asks that Bellows’ determination be declared “null and void” and that the 2020 order be modified “to deny the secretary any claim to the powers she has arrogated to herself through her misinterpretation and misapplication” of the order. “This court never intended to empower, and, in fact, did not empower the secretary to invalidate any elector signatures, let alone 1,520 such signatures,” the suit reads. The secretary of state’s office did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. The suit comes as the group behind the referendum is [challenging Bellows’ decision to invalidate thousands of signatures](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/07/01/trans-ballot-referendum-group-argues-signature-validity-to-maine-supreme-court/) submitted to qualify the question for the ballot. Her decision came in response to a lawsuit from a group of residents who took issue with the signature-gathering tactics of supporters. Advertisement Related [Trans ballot referendum group argues signature validity before Maine Supreme Court](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/07/01/trans-ballot-referendum-group-argues-signature-validity-to-maine-supreme-court/) Bellows initially found the referendum effort to be valid, despite more than 8,600 invalid signatures. After further review, [nearly 4,000 additional signatures were thrown out](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/26/in-reversal-transgender-sports-referendum-wont-be-on-maines-fall-ballot/) when Bellows’ office found signature collectors had left their signature sheets unattended and submitted improper signatures, among other issues. That case was appealed and oral arguments were made Wednesday before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. A decision is expected in the coming weeks. The federal suit is being brought by Cairo, a Texas woman who was employed as a signature-gatherer on the initiative and who goes by a single name, and three Maine residents who signed the petitions: Jason McNeill, Matt Couture and Sofia Pride. It specifically targets 1,520 signatures that Cairo and other signature gatherers collected and that Bellows found invalid because they failed to check a “jurisdiction box” on required paperwork. The box must be checked by out-of-state signature gatherers as a means of consenting to Maine’s rules and laws. Bellows later indicated the signature gatherers might be able to correct their forms after the fact, the plaintiffs wrote. And they said the 2020 order cited by Bellows in her decision and stemming from a different case didn’t spell out any requirements as to when and in what form an out-of-state circulator might comply. In May, after the deadline had passed for signatures to be submitted, Cairo submitted an affidavit with the jurisdiction box checked. She also confirmed her commitment to following Maine’s rules at a hearing on the referendum the same month. “The consent order was not intended to and did not give the secretary the authority to invalidate otherwise valid elector signatures because an out-of-state circulator failed to check the jurisdiction box,” the suit said. To qualify for the November ballot, supporters of the referendum needed to submit 67,682 signatures from registered voters. If the 1,520 signatures were found to be valid after all, it would be enough to meet that threshold and keep the referendum on the ballot, according to the suit. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [citizens referendum](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/citizens-referendum/), [Maine Secretary of State](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/maine-secretary-of-state/), [transgender rights](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/transgender-rights/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm) [Rachel OhmStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm) Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in. [More by Rachel Ohm](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm)