PORTLAND — Three Maine residents have filed a lawsuit to challenge the certification of signatures on a citizen initiative petition that asks voters to weigh in on transgender sports participation and bathroom access at schools.

Jane Gilbert of Augusta, Mark Sayre of Portland and Kaitlin Webber of Lewiston allege in court documents that Secretary of State Shenna Bellows “improperly validated” thousands of signatures.

They say if the errors are corrected, the petitioners would fall below the 67,682 signatures need to qualify for the November ballot.

Earlier this month, Bellows’ office ruled that the Protect Girls Sports in Maine group turned in enough valid signatures to call for a public vote. In its analysis, the office determined that 71,033 signatures were valid and 8,659 were invalid. 

The proposed citizen initiative seeks to prohibit transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams. It requires schools to designate all sports teams as male, female or co-ed. It defines sex as a person’s status at birth. It also requires public schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms for girls and boys.

In response to the lawsuit, Jana Spaulding, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s Office said she could not comment at this time.

The complaint filed in Cumberland County Superior Court alleges that some people signed the petition twice and both signatures were counted, that petition pages were not filled out as required and that some who signed do not appear to be registered Maine voters.

“Accordingly, when the dust settles on the ‘whole’ record, it will be clear that the proponents of the Ballot Initiative have simply failed to qualify,” according to the suit. 

When they filed the signatures in February, Protect Girls Sports in Maine said they “far exceeded” the nearly 68,000 signatures needed to make the ballot.

On Tuesday, Leyland Streiff, the lead organizer, said he believes they will meet the threshold.

"We continue to be confident about the Secretary of State's process, her team's thorough work, her validation of our petition and ultimately the margin of success our initiative maintained to clear the threshold to go on the ballot," he said.

Across the country, laws in 27 states ban transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

Opponents of the ballot measure, which includes EqualityMaine, GLAD Law and the Maine Women’s Lobby, said earlier this month they will work together as the Campaign for Free and Fair Schools to defeat the ballot measure. 

“It would embolden adults and members of the public to harass and scrutinize student athletes who just want to be on the team,” said Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine. “Enshrining the harassment of LGBTQ+ students into state law would hurt vulnerable kids and send the wrong message about who we are as Mainers.”