Superior Court directed the Secretary of State to issue determination by May 26
AUGUSTA, MAINE – A hearing regarding challenges filed against the petitions filed by proponents of the citizen initiative titled “An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex” will be held on May 12. The hearing will be held in room 127 of the Maine State House in Augusta and will begin at 10:00 a.m. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien will serve as the Presiding Officer at the Hearing, and Assistant Attorney General Jon Bolton will assist as legal counsel.
Following a decision issued by the Secretary of State’s Office on March 17, 2026, that found the petition effort valid, petitioners Jane Gilbert, Mark Sayre, and Kaitlin Webber filed suit in Maine Superior Court to challenge the determination. On April 24, 2026, the Court remanded the action “for further proceedings consistent with this Order, which may include correcting the concessions identified [in the Court’s decision and order], taking new evidence, and developing further findings of fact as necessary.” The Court directed the Secretary to issue a new Determination of Validity by May 26.
At the hearing, the parties may present evidence and argument on the following matters:
- Whether the circulators described in Gilbert’s Challenge No. 2 engaged in conduct contrary to their circulator’s oath and, if so, the effect of such failure on the validity of signatures collected;
- Whether the 31 individual signatures identified as “suspicious” in Gilbert’s Challenge Table 19a should be invalidated;
- Whether the two circulators identified in Gilbert’s Challenge 19 engaged in misconduct implicating the validity of signatures that they collected and, if so, the effect of such misconduct on the validity of signatures collected;
- Whether the Secretary should, consistent with the Court’s legal rulings, correct any of the concessions contained in her Rule 80C brief, including but not limited to whether the Secretary should or should not accept corrected forms from circulators regarding their consent to personal jurisdiction in Maine after the petition’s filing (pursuant to Challenge 3) and whether specific signatures identified in Challenges 12, 14, 15, and 16 should be treated as valid or invalid.
At the hearing there will be an opportunity for all parties to present oral testimony of witnesses as well as additional documentary evidence and to make oral arguments. Written affidavits from witnesses will not be accepted as evidence unless those witnesses are available for cross-examination. Witnesses will be permitted to appear by video conference if they are not otherwise available to attend the hearing.
Any person seeking to intervene in this matter must file a written request with the Secretary of State, copying the parties, no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2026.
The hearing will be livestreamed on the Department’s YouTube page.
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