Nebraska ballot measure · November 3, 2026
Nebraska Initiative Measure 442, explained
Sex-separate school and college sports. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
The Attorney General's certified ballot title had not been published at the time of writing. The object statement circulated on the petition reads: "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." The amendment would add Article VII, Section 16: "(1) Schools must expressly designate each athletic team or sport as one of the following based on biological sex: (a) Males, men, or boys; (b) females, women, or girls; or (c) coed or mixed. (2) Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall not be open to students of the male sex."
What it actually means
Nebraska already has a law on this. The Stand with Women Act, passed in 2025, requires students in public K-12 and college sports to compete on the team matching their sex as defined by reproductive system, with a doctor-signed document confirming it. Measure 442 would put a version of that rule in the constitution, where the Legislature could not repeal it. It requires every team to be designated male, female or coed by biological sex, and bars teams designated for girls or women from being open to students of the male sex. There is no matching bar on female students joining male teams.
If you vote YES
- A new Article VII, Section 16 would require schools to designate every athletic team or sport as male, female, or coed "based on biological sex."
- Teams designated for females, women or girls could not be open to students of the male sex. The amendment does not impose the reverse restriction on male-designated teams.
- It would apply to interscholastic, intercollegiate and intramural teams at Nebraska public schools and public colleges, and to private schools whose teams compete against them.
- It would be self-executing, with the Legislature able to pass laws to facilitate but presumably not to narrow it, and severable if any part conflicts with federal law or the U.S. Constitution.
- Because it would sit in the constitution, a future Legislature could not repeal the rule; only another vote of the people could.
- The amendment does not itself specify how sex is verified; that is in the 2025 statute, which requires a document signed by or under the authority of a doctor.
If you vote NO
- The Stand with Women Act of 2025 remains in force: students in public K-12 and collegiate sports compete on teams designated for their sex as the law defines it, and must provide a doctor-authorised document confirming it.
- That law defines female as a person who "naturally has, had, will have, or would have, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization," and defines male in parallel terms.
- The rule would stay in statute, where a future Legislature could amend or repeal it without asking voters.
- Nebraska would not become the first state to write a sports eligibility rule of this kind into its constitution.
- As of July 2026, 29 states had comparable requirements in statute, regulation or athletic association rules; Nebraska would remain among them by statute alone.
The numbers that matter
- Signatures submitted
- About 211,000, against a requirement of about 126,000
- States with comparable sports eligibility requirements
- 29 as of July 2026
- Similar measures elsewhere in 2026
- 3 — Arizona, Colorado and Washington
- Reported campaign funds
- $3,101,188 for; $0 against
Fairness for Girls filing, June 30, 2026; the campaign says it is the largest number gathered for a Nebraska initiative
Ballotpedia's survey; 27 by statute, one by state board regulation and one by athletic association rule
Ballotpedia's 2026 ballot measure tracking
Campaign finance reports through July 31, 2026, as compiled by Ballotpedia; $3.1 million came from Restore the Good Life Inc.
What each side says3 for, 3 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
"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."
— Fairness for Girls, the sponsoring campaign
"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."
— Nebraska Family Alliance
"You're not only risking injuries to girls competing against them, but moreover girls are missing out on scholarship opportunities and medal spots."
— Julie Slama, former state senator and leader of Fairness for Girls
Why opponents say NO
"The 'Fairness for Girls' initiative is not a grassroots effort to protect girls' sports. It has received the majority of its funding, more than $3 million, from a dark money nonprofit. It is designed to permanently embed into Nebraska's constitution a policy that was already passed as regular law, specifically making it harder to change or challenge that law. Transgender students are not a threat to girls' sports. They are kids who want to play."
— OutNebraska
"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."
— Rainbow Parents of Nebraska
"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."
— Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
What's genuinely uncertain
- The Attorney General's certified ballot title, which is the wording voters will actually read, was not available to us. What is quoted above is the petition's object statement and the text of the amendment.
- The amendment does not define "biological sex" or say how a school would determine it; the 2025 statute's definition and doctor's-document requirement would presumably fill that in, but the amendment does not say so.
- Because the amendment restricts female-designated teams only, whether and how it affects students of the female sex playing on male or coed teams is not stated.
- How it would interact with federal Title IX enforcement is left to the severability clause, which says the section is to be implemented to the maximum extent federal law permits.
- Litigation is live: the Nebraska Supreme Court declined one challenge to the initiative in early September 2026 and was scheduled to hear another later that month.
- Spending is one-sided. Through July 31, 2026, Fairness for Girls reported $3.1 million, essentially all from a single nonprofit, Restore the Good Life Inc.; no committee registered in opposition, and $3 million was paid to Vanguard Field Strategies for signature gathering.
The bottom line
Whether a rule Nebraska already has in statute should be locked into the constitution, where no future Legislature could change it — permanence for supporters who fear repeal, against putting a rule about a very small number of students beyond ordinary lawmaking.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
- 1Here are the statewide ballot measures on the November ballot — Nebraska Public Media — nebraskapublicmedia.org
- 2Nebraska Sex Requirement for School and College Sports Initiative (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
- 3Secretary of State certifies ballot measures for 2026 general election — 10/11 NOW (KOLN) — wowt.com
Checking it against the official text
The Nebraska Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Nebraska Secretary of State.
Other measures on the Nebraska ballot
Candidates on the same ballot
- U.S. Senate election in Nebraska
- Nebraska governor's race
- Nebraska's 1st congressional district
- Nebraska's 2nd congressional district
- Nebraska's 3rd congressional district