ALASKA: Anchorage Rejects Anti-Trans Initiative

I held off on reporting this earlier this week because there were still many uncounted ballots. But as of last night, we have a final result.

The Anchorage Daily News reports:

Anchorage voters have rejected an initiative that would have regulated access to restrooms and locker rooms by a person’s sex at birth instead of gender identity, a local version of what’s known nationally as a “bathroom bill” that sparked massive spending by an opposition campaign.

The latest election results released Friday show Proposition 1 was failing by a six-point margin, with 77,766 ballots counted. There are fewer than 1,000 ballots left to be counted, election officials said.

The city has fought bitter battles over LGBT rights in the past, most recently in 2012. Prop. 1, meanwhile, was apparently one of the country’s first “bathroom bills” to appear on a ballot as an initiative.

The failed ordinance was primarily backed by the Alaska Family Council, which is part of the American Family Association.