Arizona Voters Pass Prop. 318 to Restrict Transgender Restroom and Locker Room Access
Based on a race call by the Associated Press, voters in Arizona have passed a ballot initiative that prohibits transgender students from using preferred bathrooms and locker rooms.
When the AP declared the winner at 1:32 am on Wednesday, the initiative held a 58% share of the vote. Ballot measures need a simple majority — 50% plus one, at least — to become law in Arizona.
Lawmakers Refer Measure After Democratic Vetoes
Prop. 318 was referred to the ballot by state Republican lawmakers earlier this year, and was opposed by legislative Democrats. The measure bans schools and athletic associations from letting students use bathrooms, locker rooms, or other private spaces that don’t align with their “biological status as male or female” as it’s recorded on their birth certificate.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed similar legislation in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Arizona also has an existing state law that bars transgender girls from playing on girls sports teams. But proponents of Prop. 318 campaigned on the idea that the measure is about protecting girls’ sports. On Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026, voters cast their ballots at locations such as the Pyle Adult Recreation Center in Tempe and the Mountain Park Health Center.
Differing Perspectives on Fairness and Inclusion
Kim Miller, CEO and president of America’s Women of Action, one of the leading groups supporting Prop. 318, said the restrictions need to be statewide.
“This is an issue of fairness. It’s not anything against those people,” Miller said, adding that differences remain even after cross-sex hormone therapy. “There are still inherent differences in your DNA that can never be changed. Your muscle mass, your lung capacity, your heart size,” Miller said.
Miller also emphasized the necessity of privacy spaces, stating that there is no way to protect women if you allow biological men to come into their locker rooms.
Conversely, opponents contend that the measure amounts to government overreach. Darrell Hill, with the ACLU of Arizona, said current Arizona state law is enough.
Darrell Hill of the ACLU of Arizona described the measure as an effort to push trans people out of public life. Hill also said the opposition believes the focus is on a defenseless, small minority of kids to use as a punching bag.
Hill also pointed out that the restrictions extend beyond athletes to spectators who go and see sporting events, restricting their ability to use bathrooms.
With the passage of Prop. 318, Arizona schools and athletic associations must now implement these requirements, which apply to all Arizona schools and athletic associations, not just public schools.
