After adding to the complications of Utah’s court-ordered congressional map redistricting and earning a light reproach from Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, state Republican Party leaders withdrew their campaign to indirectly repeal Proposition 4 through a Legislative vote.
The 2018 citizen-approved redistricting law is at the center of Utah’s long-fought battle over the maps and two days of hearings where Judge Dianna Gibson is evaluating arguments and evidence about the three maps in front of her.
While the GOP group preferred the indirect approach, which would have taken the repeal question directly to lawmakers, they said in a statement that, based on legal filings, they believed that approach would likely be blocked in court. So they changed tactics and are now trying to get enough signatures to put it on the ballot.
Statement from UTGOP Chairman Robert Axson on Utahns for Representative Government’s direct initiative to repeal Proposition 4 and defend Utah’s constitutional process.#utgop #utpol pic.twitter.com/vp0XqnfR06
— UtahGOP (@UtahGOP) October 25, 2025
Utah Sen. Mike Lee has signed onto the new effort, along with other notable Republicans.
“For those who claim to believe in the initiative process, they should welcome our effort,” said Party Chair Robert Axson. “The only difference is that our initiative restores the constitutional order that Proposition 4 disrupted.”
He added that their effort was about defending the state constitution and that “the people’s representatives — not the courts — should draw Utah’s maps.”
Advocates of Prop 4 saw the change as a bit of a win. The indirect route would have required fewer signatures than the direct path the Utah GOP will now try to take. And with the indirect, lawmakers, who have tried to get rid of Prop 4 in the past, would have the final say.
“They will find out just how difficult a real initiative is. We went through that in 2018, and it was hard,” said Katharine Biele, president of the League of Women Voters of Utah.
A statement from Elizabeth Rasmussen, the Director of Better Boundaries, noted that “Proposition 4 remains the law of the land” and added that they “will continue to strongly oppose any and all efforts to undermine fair maps and the ability of voters to choose their politicians.”
