Nearly 53 percent of voters in Anchorage, Alaska, cast their ballots in opposition to a proposition that would have required transgender people to use public facilities that match the sex on their birth certificates.
The historic April 3 election, conducted primarily through mail-in-ballots, was the first time U.S. citizens directly voted on a so-called transgender “bathroom bill.”
“Anchorage voters refused to succumb to hate and bigotry by rejecting this discriminatory, anti-transgender ballot measure.Community leaders, businesses, faith leaders, and public officials all spoke out in support of equality,” Chad Griffin, president of national LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement sent to NBC News.
The unofficial results, which will be certified on April 17, came as a relief to Anchorage transgender activist Lillian Lennon.
