(The Center Square) – Let’s Go Washington this week released a signature count update for a pair of initiatives for which the political organization is gathering voter signatures: 315,979 signatures for IL26-638 and 298,571 signatures for IL26-001.
The former would ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports, and the latter would focus on parental rights in education.
Approximately 309,000 valid voter signatures are required by 5 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2026, to have each measure certified by the Office of the Secretary of State. That number is based on the percentage of registered voters who participated in the last general election.
LGW and its supporters are aiming for 400,000 signatures for each measure to compensate for any damaged signatures or unregistered voter signatures, which would be invalidated.
LGW Campaign Manager Darren Littell issued a statement about the initiative totals: “Courage is contagious, and that is evidenced by the support for our initiatives. People are turning out in droves to sign and stand with the young women and families advocating for these measures. We are confident that we will hit our goal and qualify both initiatives.”
As reported by The Center Square, there have been numerous attacks on signature gatherers in recent months, leading to multiple arrests and charges.
Supporters and volunteers are encouraged to send partially or fully completed signature-gathering sheets by mail by Dec. 19.
Washington Families for Freedom – a coalition campaign group supported by the Washington Education Association – opposes both initiatives.
The Center Square reached out to WFF for comment on the number of signatures gathered so far.
“Domestic violence groups, law enforcement officers, doctors and many others oppose Heywood’s initiatives because they put vulnerable students at greater risk of abuse at home and at school,” WFF spokesperson Lexi Koren emailed The Center Square. “His initiatives could subject girls to forced genital inspections, out LGBTQ+ students to unsupportive families, and make it harder for students to get help from school counselors. Whether or not he buys his way onto the ballot again, [Brian] Heywood has a losing record with the voters.”
Brian Heywood is the founder of LGW.
Let’s Go Washington spokesperson Hallie Balch defended the initiatives against opponents’ attacks.
“They say both initiatives will be a danger to kids [who] are minority students or children of color,” she said. “Like, how does this have anything to do with that? The whole point of both initiatives is to make all kids safer by including their parents and by making sure that kids are playing in the correct league for sports. This will make everybody safer across the board.”
Balch continued: “What’s so disgusting about that is they can just shout out that they’re going to make little girls take their pants down before they can play a soccer game. And people just run with that. It’s so egregious what they’re saying. They’re just putting this incendiary idea in the people’s minds, and it has absolutely nothing to do with what we’re talking about.”
IL26-638 does not explicitly mandate “genital inspections,” but it requires students participating in female sports to provide a health care provider’s verification of biological sex based on specific criteria. That has led to criticism that such intrusive exams may be necessary to meet the criteria.
Brett Davis contributed to this story.
