This is the No Hate in WA State campaign’s response to Washington State’s first reported ballot counts. More ballots will be counted over the next week.
Libby Watson, No Hate WA State campaign manager, reacted to the returns:
“The election season of 2026 marked the largest political expenditure by one small set of very rich extremists on one issue, ever: demonizing transgender children. Thanks to the brave voices of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors and victim advocates who told the truth about the impacts of these initiatives on all children, voters have rejected I-001. We look forward to the ballot returns over the next few days and are hopeful that Washington voters will also reject I-638, the attempt to scapegoat a handful of vulnerable trans children. Washington is a state that respects and supports its neighbors and its children, and we hope the votes will prove that in the coming days.”
Ana Ruiz Kennedy, the Children’s Campaign Fund’s Political Table Campaign Manager from Pasco:
“Let’s Go WA’s real agenda was to distract voters from the real issues - unaffordable housing, huge grocery and gas bills, and expensive health care by targeting the most vulnerable among us while they tried to buy a tax break for a handful of multi-millionaires.The sponsors of these initiatives are trying to distract from the real issues - unaffordable housing, huge grocery and gas bills, and expensive health care - by targeting vulnerable children while they try to buy a tax break for multi-millionaires. We’re grateful to thousands of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors and advocates for victims of abuse and sexual assault who spoke up to tell the truth about the harmful impacts of these initiatives on all children. We’re proud of the coalition we have built during the course of this campaign, and we promise to redouble our efforts to ensure the Evergreen state will remain a great place to live, work, and raise children of every color, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and gender.”
Adrianna Suluai, Policy and Advocacy Director, UTOPIA Washington and No Hate in WA State Executive Board Member
“Thank you to the nearly 7,000 volunteers, 3,600+ donors, and more than 700 organizations and leaders who stood up against the mega-millionaires and anti-LGBTQ+ forces trying to take over our state. Regardless of the outcomes, we will work to make sure that Washington is a great place to live, work, and raise children of every color, religion, background, sexual orientation, ability, and gender.
Across backgrounds, race, and faith, most of us would do anything for the people we love. But as we work to keep our families fed and our neighbors safe, the mega-millionaires continue to show how they want to control our elections with misinformation and fear-mongering. They’ve targeted the most vulnerable among us to distract Washingtonians from the real issues like unaffordable housing, huge grocery and gas bills, and expensive health care. When we object, they point the finger at our neighbors who are Black, trans, Muslim, migrant, and other historically marginalized communities. We see through them and together we will keep fighting to protect our communities and families.
To all the trans kids, to all of the girls playing elementary, middle and high school sports, we care about you and there are people who will never stop fighting for you.”
Background on 2026 WA Ballot Initiatives IL26-638 and IL26-001
Brian Heywood is the MAGA millionaire behind Let’s Go Washington, the same group that failed to pass ballot measures two years ago aimed at cutting funding from education (I-2109), bankrupting our long-term care benefit program (I-2124) and gutting funding to address climate change (I-2117). Heywood’s initiatives this year were in lock-step with the playbook used by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and ultra-conservative think tanks to distract voters from the real issues, give tax cuts to the uber wealthy, and roll back progress common sense policy in Washington.
The MAGA backers of Let’s Go WA’s 2026 ballot initiatives IL26-001 and IL26-638 tried to disguise the dangerous and extreme consequences of their measures, but thanks to the brave voices of parents, teachers, nurses, doctors and victim advocates who stood up and told the truth about these initiative’s impacts on all children, including trans kids, voters appear to have rejected at least I-001.
I-001 would have removed important school record protections for child abuse victims, allowing abusers under investigation or charged with harming their own child to access sensitive information about their victims. I-001 would have discouraged students facing domestic violence, sexual abuse, or bullying from seeking help from trusted school counselors and force teachers and school counselors to knowingly put LGBTQ+ kids in danger of violence and homelessness by outing them to abusive families. I-001 also would have removed parental rights to be notified immediately if their child is the victim of a crime. This initiative would have put tens of thousands of children at greater risk of harm from abusers, and will undermine the safety and privacy of LGBTQ+ and other children who desperately need a trusted adult to help them with depression, domestic violence, bullying and more when we’re in the middle of a youth mental health crisis.
If passed, I-638 would add a new sex inspection requirement for all girls who want to play elementary, middle, or high school sports in order to exclude an estimated 5 - 10 trans girls. The initiative says all girls must submit to examinations of their “reproductive anatomy,” DNA, or hormones to be certified to play sports. Boys are exempt and birth certificates are banned.
77 local and tribal governments passed resolutions opposing ballot measures I-001 and I-638 including: the cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, Bothell, Olympia, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, Vancouver, Issaquah, Mountlake Terrace, Port Townsend, Seattle, Shoreline, Duvall, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, Bellingham, Tacoma, King County Council, Seattle School Board, and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians representing 57 tribal governments. The municipalities and tribes joined 405 organizations, including 39 faith organizations, 33 unions, WA Governor Bob Ferguson, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, and 173 other elected officials and candidates in endorsing the No Hate in WA State campaign to defeat the initiatives.
The Washington Academy of Family Physicians, the largest medical specialty organization in Washington, the NAACP, the WA State PTA, League of Women Voters, WA State Nurses Association, the WA Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and the editorial boards at the Seattle Times and the Columbian opposed I-001 and I-638. The Seattle Sports Commission also opposed I-638 because it would “introduce additional medical, financial, and privacy-related barriers to participation in K-12 school athletics.
Organizational support for I-001 and I-638 came from anti-LGBTQ groups such as Moms for Liberty, XX-XY Athletics, WA State GOP, and Let’s Go Washington, which was recently added to GLAAD’s accountability list of people and groups for spreading “disinformation and promoting policy to harm LGBTQ people and youth.
# # #
