The push to repeal Utah’s anti-gerrymandering and independent redistricting law has enough verified signatures to qualify for the ballot — at least for now. But it’s not guaranteed that the question will go before voters in November because individuals can still withdraw their signatures. And some already have.
To put the repeal of Proposition 4 on the ballot, Utahns for Representative Government, a Republican-backed group, needed to collect 140,748 signatures. And those signatures needed to come from 8% of voters in at least 26 of the state’s 29 Senate Districts.
It has met both thresholds, according to a list maintained by the Lt. Governor’s Office updated Monday morning. It’s reached 160,659 signatures statewide and hit the mark in 26 districts.
But it’s those geographic targets where the effort could falter. In Senate District 7, represented by Senate President Stuart Adams, the group has met their goal but has a thin lead, leaving little cushion if voters withdraw their names. That district, which is in Davis and part of Morgan counties, is only 87 signatures over the line. That’s the narrowest margin out of all districts over the threshold.
If repeal supporters lose that district, their ability to qualify for the ballot takes a big hit.
Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie told KUER his office has at least a couple of hundred removal requests to process. That number could grow over the coming weeks, as signers have 45 days after the Lt. Governor’s Office posts their name online to request that their signature be removed.
McKenzie’s office has completed an initial review of petition signatures, he said. Now his staff is taking a second look at any rejected signatures to make sure his office made the right call.
Statewide, signature verification will be done by March 9, according to the Lt. Governor’s Office. That means some signers will have until April 23 to remove their name.
Better Boundaries, the group behind Proposition 4, has been encouraging petition signers to remove their signatures. The group has mailed prefilled forms to those individuals, along with stamped envelopes to submit the removal request.
Another grassroots group has been holding in-person events to help people remove their signatures.
Those efforts seem to be working.
As of Monday, Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said her office had received 2,810 removal requests. To put that in perspective, during last year’s labor union referendum signature campaign, her office received 12 such requests.
“It’s a stark difference,” Chapman said.
Despite the removal campaigns, Utahns for Representative Government has said it's confident it will prevail.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson will officially determine by April 30 whether the Prop 4 repeal question will be on the ballot. The repeal attempt is just another front in a long tug-of-war over Utah’s redistricting that has included court battles, different appeals, legislative maneuvers by lawmakers and talk of amending the state constitution.
