Anti-trans Maine lawmaker regains right to vote

AUGUSTA, Maine (CN) — A controversial Maine State Representative who had criticized transgender athletes won her case to regain the right to vote and speak in session without having to rely on a pending First Circuit ruling.

The Maine House voted Wednesday to lift a ban on Republican Representative Laurel Libby, imposed after she criticized a transgender high school athlete. The bipartisan vote makes the First Circuit appeal moot and marks a major win for Libby, a conservative outspoken on transgender athlete issues.

“I have never apologized, and will never apologize, for speaking up in the defense of Maine girls and their right to a fair, safe, and level playing field,” Representative Laurel Libby said in a statement, reportedly saying the vote to restore her rights had been a surprise.

She added in a tweet hours after the 115-16 vote that “the Democrats caved because they knew they were losing in court” and that “elected officials cannot be silenced for speaking the truth!”

Earlier this year, Maine’s House Speaker censured Libby after she posted a Facebook photo of a transgender student athlete who won a girls’ pole vault event after placing fifth in a similar boys’ competition two years prior, naming the athlete and showing her face.

After the censure, Libby then sued the speaker and House clerk, arguing the censure was unconstitutional and left her 9,000 constituents “without a voice or vote.”

The issue was heard before the First Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 to allow Libby to participate in debates and votes pending the outcome of her complaint.

Libby’s attorney, Taylor Meehan of Consovoy McCarthy, argued that “speaking and voting go hand in hand” and that Libby simply wanted to be “recognized like everyone else” in the chamber.

The panel of Biden-appointed judges appeared hesitant to uphold the ban but less concerned about the speaking ban. U.S. Circuit Judge Seth Aframe cautioned against setting a precedent that would pull federal courts “down in the mud” and “insert into the machinations” of state legislatures.

Libby’s censure in February passed along party lines.

Maine has been central to the national debate over transgender athletes. Earlier this year, the Trump administration sued the state for refusing to comply with a new federal ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports. Governor Janet Mills responded, “We’ll see you in court.”

Libby is no stranger to controversy. She has repeatedly posted about transgender athletes on Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, and lost her committee assignments in 2021 for refusing to follow mask mandates in the Maine House.

In 2024, Libby opposed a bill that would have restricted unauthorized paramilitary training. While speaking against the bill, she infamously said referenced neo-Nazi demonstrations in the state in 2023, saying “I would like to know what they did that was illegal … what they did that was wrong, that infringed on another person’s right.”

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