Portland, here's your Friday read. Tuesday's election put trans lives on the ballot in five states and trans candidates on the winner's list in several more, Oregon's governor kept her seat, and Washington voters just north of us approved a school sports restriction. Here's what happened and what it means for our community.
Voters Decide Five Trans Ballot Measures
The Legislative Building at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia. Photo: OceanLoop via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
For the first time, voters decided statewide ballot measures on trans kids in school sports and on medical care for trans minors. Ballotpedia counts six measures in five states. Arizona's Proposition 318 and Nebraska's Initiative 442 were approved. Missouri's Amendment 3, which would have banned care for trans minors and also rolled back the state's 2024 reproductive freedom amendment, was defeated. Washington's Initiative 638, which restricts girls' school sports and requires healthcare documentation to verify sex, was called for approval by the Associated Press on Wednesday night, according to KUOW. In Colorado, Propositions 134 and 135 were leading narrowly, around 52 to 48 percent, in the last counts we could confirm.
Before this week, 29 states already limited girls' sports by sex and 27 banned surgical procedures for trans minors, so ballots became one more door for well-funded campaigns. GLAAD says more than $187 million went to anti-trans ads this cycle. Missouri shows these fights can be won, and counts in Colorado were still moving.
Read the full story at Ballotpedia News →
Trans Candidates Win From Alabama to Georgia
The Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery. Photo: DXR via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The same election sent trans and nonbinary people into statehouses. The Advocate reports that Allison Montgomery unseated a Republican incumbent in Alabama's House District 25, 53 to 47 percent per the Associated Press, and will be Alabama's first trans state lawmaker. Bentley Hudgins won Georgia's House District 90 as the state's first out transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker. Rep. Sarah McBride was reelected in Delaware, Zooey Zephyr was reelected in Montana, and DeShanna Neal was reelected in Delaware's House as that state's first nonbinary elected official. GLAAD also lists Jaelynn Scott, who won a Washington House seat.
Names matter here because rooms matter. Bans pass where no one in the room has lived them, and these winners now sit in the rooms where those bills get written. The Advocate calls its list a developing story, so more results may be added.
Read the full story at The Advocate →
Trevor Project: Election Season Weighed on Trans Youth
Watercolor-style artwork of the transgender pride flag. Photo: Nadiaraven via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
The Trevor Project released findings on Nov. 4 about what this political season did to young people. It reports that 94 percent of trans and nonbinary youth said recent anti-LGBTQ+ politics caused them stress or anxiety, and more than 8 in 10 said it made them feel unsafe. In its 2025 survey, 38 percent said recent policies made them or their family consider moving to another state. The organization also notes that young people living in very accepting communities report much better outcomes than those in unaccepting ones.
Politics is a system, and it lands in bodies and in group chats. Community is the system that answers back. A friend who texts back, a peer who gets it, a neighbor who says you belong here: that's protective, and it's built on purpose.
Read the full story at The Trevor Project →
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More This Week
In Oregon, OPB's results page showed Gov. Tina Kotek leading Christine Drazan about 52 to 45 percent with roughly 79 percent of the vote reported early Thursday, and The Advocate lists her as the winner. None of the Oregon measures on OPB's page addressed trans issues. See the OPB results.
In Canada, new asylum rules took effect Nov. 3. The federal government says there is now one online application for all claims, set timelines for key reviews, and exceptions to new ineligibility rules. It also reports that claims fell 52 percent from January to August 2026 compared with the same months in 2025. Read the Canadian government announcement. In Ireland, the Irish Times reported in October that 94 US citizens sought asylum there in 2025 and none of the US cases it reviewed succeeded, including a trans woman's 2025 claim. Asylum abroad is a narrow legal door, so talk with an immigration lawyer before planning around it. Read the Irish Times report.
On the money, GLAAD says $78 million of the anti-trans ad spending was in Texas and $26 million in Ohio, and that candidates who ran on anti-trans messaging generally lost in states where those ads aired, naming Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina. That is GLAAD's own read of the results. Read the GLAAD statement.
What This Means for Portland
Oregon's ballot had no trans-specific measure, but Washington's did, and Southwest Washington families with kids in school sports now face a new rule a bridge away. Expect more neighbors, coworkers and relatives to ask what Oregon offers. If you're an Oregon Health Plan member with coverage questions or a denial, call OHP Member Services at 1-800-273-0557 (TTY 711). If you have commercial insurance and your plan denies care your provider says is medically necessary, HB 2002 still applies, and you can reach the Department of Consumer and Business Services Consumer Advocacy hotline at 1-888-877-4894. Keep copies of every denial and appeal deadline.
If you have friends or family in Arizona, Nebraska or Washington who are rattled, send them our free guides and tell them Portland has room. Check in with the trans youth in your life this week, even with a simple text.
What This Means for Our Work
When ballots and bills squeeze people, the pressure shows up as moves, and that's why our TRFAN emergency relocation program and Safe Haven Home Share exist. Peer Support Services, with partners Dian's Well, Folktime and The Peer Company, give people someone to talk to while systems shift. Our Trans Oregon step-by-step guides walk through the paperwork, including ID changes, and Know Your Power helps with tenant rights. Trans Town PDX events keep us connected, because the trans youth data above says it plainly: community is protective.
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Use the Trans Oregon guides for step-by-step help in Oregon.
