Initiative 638 passed in 35 of 39 Washington counties. It won by more than 10 percentage points statewide. Pierce County approved it 60-40. Clark County matched that margin. Even the single border county that rejected it did so by just 116 votes.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson looked at all of that and said no.
Wilson is now backing her school board's authorization of legal action against I-638, the voter-approved measure banning biological males from competing in girls' sports. The initiative hasn't even been certified yet — that's scheduled for December 3 — and the machinery to kill it is already running. The ACLU filed suit to block certification before the ink was dry, naming pseudonymous parents of two males competing in girls' sports and four females on girls' teams as plaintiffs, all between the ages of 11 and 17. The Washington Education Association and a Seattle nonprofit called TransFamilies joined the pile-on.
Wilson framed her opposition as a "commitment to creating inclusive learning environments where every student has the opportunity" to participate. The school board resolution she's championing raised concerns about "scrutiny, verification, and potential invasions of privacy" — referring to the initiative's requirement that sex be verified through reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.
What the resolution didn't mention: Washington's WIAA policy was the first in the nation to allow competition based on gender identity alone, with no testosterone suppression requirement whatsoever. The state wasn't some middle-of-the-road holdout. It was the most permissive system in America. The voters decided they'd had enough.
Darren Littell, executive director of Let's Go Washington, the group behind I-638, put it plainly. They "want boys in girls' sports at all costs, and they are willing to undermine democracy." A failed parents' rights initiative on the same ballot drew 65,000 fewer votes than I-638 — meaning tens of thousands of voters who didn't care about the broader culture war still showed up specifically to protect girls' athletics.
The privacy argument collapses on contact. Washington already requires a routine physical examination before any student can compete in interscholastic sports. As Let's Go Washington pointed out, "asking a doctor to check an additional box" during an exam that already happens is the part that supposedly requires emergency legal intervention.
Meanwhile, the actual consequences of the old policy have names. Kallie Keeler, a female wrestler, was allegedly sexually assaulted during a match against a male competitor in Puyallup on December 5, 2025. Logan Mihailoff, a male runner at Camas High School, switched to the girls' team mid-season, prompting a student protest called "Camas Courage." These aren't hypotheticals from a policy paper. They're specific incidents involving specific kids in specific Washington towns.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat, is technically obligated to defend I-638 in court regardless of his personal views — that's the standard under Washington state law. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley has noted the broader legal landscape here, particularly Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's opinion that existing federal statutes "do not require an overhaul of women's and girls' sports throughout America." The legal foundation for what Washington voters did is solid. The opposition isn't arguing the law is unconstitutional. They're arguing that voters shouldn't have had the option.
King County — Seattle's home turf — was one of only four counties in the entire state to reject I-638. The other three were two small coastal counties and one on the Canadian border. The progressive coalition that screamed about democracy for four straight years just discovered that democracy includes results they don't like.
Thirty-five of thirty-nine counties. More than ten points statewide. One mayor who doesn't care.
