Utah’s redistricting tug-of-war is playing out over several fronts. It’s waiting on two different days in court. Lawmakers have talked about a constitutional amendment, and a Utah GOP group has been collecting signatures for a ballot repeal.
On that final front, Utahns for Representative Government had until Sunday, Feb. 15, to collect 140,748 signatures in their bid to reverse Proposition 4. As of Friday morning, with 88,948 signatures verified and turned into the Lt. Governor’s Office, the tide seemed against them.
On Sunday at the deadline, state Republican Party Chair Robert Axson said they had turned in “well over 200,000” signatures in total.
Several high-profile Utah Republicans — including Axson, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown and former U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop — started the campaign to repeal Proposition 4 after filing a petition in October. Axson told KUER that “while it has been a heavy lift, and it certainly is a new experience for me, it's something that I believe firmly in.”
The signature threshold they need to meet represents 8% of active voters. They also have to hit that 8% target in at least 26 of the 29 state Senate districts — which as of Friday, they had only made it in four.
Whether the attempted Prop 4 repeal will end up on ballot is still an open question, since the signatures need to be verified, signers have the option of removing their names and the district threshold needs to be met.
Prop 4 is the 2018 ballot initiative that Utah voters narrowly passed to create an independent redistricting commission and ban gerrymandering. In response, the Legislature rewrote the law, calling it “a compromise” to weaken the commission’s role and loosen some of the requirements. Lawmakers then passed a map with four safe Republican seats.
Several groups sued, and in that multi-year court case the Legislature was dealt repeated blows. The latest was when Utah Third District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the state’s congressional map was unlawful, threw it out and then picked a new map that she said adhered to Prop 4. It wasn’t the one lawmakers wanted and has one seat that favors Democrats. Some in the Utah GOP were furious.
Of the attempted Prop 4 repeal, Axson said, “We're standing up in defense of the Constitution, in defense of representative government and making sure that the people of Utah, not a judge, get to decide what these maps are.”
The outcome of the initiative to repeal Prop 4 wouldn’t impact which map is used in the 2026 midterms, but is aimed at the Legislature's map-drawing power going forward.
“I think the debate around redistricting and what Utah wants to see is going to be a conversation that continues for a long time, but ultimately it's one that Utahns need to decide,” Axson said.
Days before the deadline, Gov. Spencer Cox lent his weight and sent out an email encouraging people to sign the petition.
Since the deadline to turn in signatures landed on the weekend, the clerks’ offices in at least Salt Lake County, Davis and Utah counties told KUER they’d be open until 5 p.m. to accept drop-offs, which had been coordinated by the organizers.
County clerks will have until March 7 to verify signatures and turn them in to the Lt. Governor’s Office for the final count. And Utahns will have several weeks to request the removal of their signatures. KSL reported a large number have already requested that — 1,260 individuals in Salt Lake County alone.
Better Boundaries, the group behind the passage of Prop 4, launched a campaign encouraging people to remove their signatures. They mailed letters to people who had signed with information about the repeal effort and instructions on how to remove their names. The organization said they decided to do this after the Salt Lake Tribune and KSL reported that some Utahns felt tricked into signing the petition.
Bethany Crisp, the group’s deputy director, told KUER Better Boundaries’ goals are to make sure Utahns understand what they’ve signed and to protect Prop 4 since Utahns voted for it. She said this isn’t about politics, but about having a fair, transparent process.
“Our priority really is making sure that Utahns' voices are heard and that Utahns feel like they're able to choose their politicians and not the other way around,” Crisp said.
The road to this deadline hasn’t been a pretty one. In addition to accusations of signature gatherers giving inaccurate information, the Utah County Clerk said there were potentially fraudulent signatures. Axson said organizers flagged that for the clerk and fired the individuals who turned those in. There have also been reports of signature gatherers being assaulted and having their signature packets stolen.
This is a fight that has gotten national attention as President Donald Trump fights to maintain Republican control of Congress. Trump has encouraged Utahns to sign the petition, and Utahns for Representative Government has received millions of dollars in donations for this effort, including from a dark money group, Securing American Greatness, that financially supported Trump’s 2024 campaign.
