News and analysis right to your inbox. Click to get Ballotpedia’s newsletters!

Nebraska Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Amendment (2026)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Nebraska Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Amendment

Flag of Nebraska.png

Election date

November 3, 2026

Topic
Athletics and sports and LGBTQ issues
Status

Cleared for signature gathering

Type
Initiated constitutional amendment 		Origin

Citizens


The Nebraska Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Amendment may appear on the ballot in Nebraska as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.

The initiative would amend the Nebraska Constitution to require schools to designate sports teams as male, female, or co-ed. Teams designated as female would prohibit male sex students from participating. The amendment would apply to all public schools and college teams and any private-run school that competes against public schools or colleges. The amendment would also authorize the Nebraska State Legislature to pass laws to facilitate the amendment's operation.[1][2]

Text of measure

Object statement

The object statement on the circulating petition was:[1]

“ The object of this petition is to amend the Nebraska Constitution to establish constitutional protections for sex-separate athletics to ensure equal access to athletic opportunities for females.[3] ”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support

Fairness for Girls is leading the campaign in support of the initiative.[4]

Supporters

Organizations

  • Nebraska Family Alliance

Arguments

  • Fairness for Girls: "Nebraskans support preserving opportunities for young girls, protecting female athletes’ safety, and keeping the process fair. Biological males competing in girls’ sports pose a physical safety risk to young girls while also taking away opportunities for medals, tournament advancement and scholarships."
  • Nebraska Family Alliance: "Males have physical advantages over young girls—higher muscle mass, bone density, and testosterone levels—which gives them a clear advantage. Girls lose opportunities for scholarships, medals, and advancement when they’re forced to compete against boys. Privacy, dignity, and safety are fundamental rights of every Nebraskan, and 'Fairness for Girls' will enshrine protections for girls’ sports into Nebraska’s constitution."


Opposition

Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opponents

Organizations

  • Ballot Initiative Strategy Center

Arguments

  • Rainbow Parents of Nebraska: "Trans people make up less than 1% of our state’s population. Trans athletes are an even smaller percentage of that 1%. This does NOT protect women as they like to claim. This is another distraction and an attempt to increase conservative voter turnout."
  • Ballot Initiative Strategy Center: "Ballot measures that target trans people including youth are an attack on fundamental freedoms and an attempt to write discrimination into law. Voters deserve policies that protect people’s dignity, not political tactics that single out vulnerable communities. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to hijack the people’s tool for political gain at the expense of the trans community’s well-being and belonging."


Path to the ballot

Process in Nebraska

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Nebraska

An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.

In Nebraska, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of registered voters at the signature deadline. Nebraska also has a distribution requirement that requires initiative proponents to collect signatures from 5% of the registered voters in two-fifths (38) of Nebraska's 93 counties. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 35% of the total votes cast in the election. This also applies to legislative referrals.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2026 ballot:

  • Signatures: 10 percent of registered voters at the time of the petition filing deadline
  • Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures is July 3, 2026.

Stages of this ballot initiative

The following is the timeline of the initiative:

  • February 26, 2026: Robert M. Shafer, Julie Slama, and Elizabeth Nunnally filed the initiative.[2]

See also

2026 ballot measures

View other measures certified for the 2026 ballot across the U.S. and in Nebraska.

Nebraska ballot measures

Explore Nebraska's ballot measure history, including citizen-initiated ballot measures.

Initiative process

Understand how measures are placed on the ballot and the rules that apply.

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed March 10, 2026
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nebraska Secretary of State, "List of petitions," accessed March 10, 2026
  3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ Nebraska Examiner, "Nebraska group wants to limit school sports participation by sex in state constitution," March 9, 2026
Flag of Nebraska
v • e
State of Nebraska
Lincoln (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2026 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Nebraska_Sex_Requirement_for_School_and_College_Sports_Amendment_(2026)&oldid=11152585"