Utah Republican organizers say they submitted more than 200,000 signatures to qualify a ballot initiative that would repeal Proposition 4, the 2018 measure creating a seven-member independent redistricting commission. State officials have until March 7 to verify the petition signatures. The repeal push coincides with GOP legal challenges to a court-ordered congressional map that Democrats say could produce a pickup opportunity ahead of November. Former President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the initiative.
Utah GOP Submits 200,000+ Signatures To Put Redistricting Repeal On November Ballot
Utah Republicans say they have support for redistricting ballot proposal
Utah Republican leaders say they have submitted more than 200,000 signatures to qualify a ballot initiative that would repeal Proposition 4, the 2018 measure that created an independent redistricting commission.
Robert Axson, who is organizing the campaign under the group Utahns for Representative Government, told supporters in a video posted by Utah Republican National Committee member Brad Bonham: "We are well over 200,000 signatures that have been submitted. We have met the threshold."
Proposition 4 narrowly passed in 2018 with just over 50 percent of the vote. The measure established a seven-member independent commission charged with drawing and recommending legislative and congressional maps to state lawmakers.
The petition submission deadline was Sunday evening. According to reporting from Deseret News, state officials have until March 7 to verify the signatures before the initiative can be certified for the November ballot.
Political and Legal Stakes
The GOP-led repeal campaign is unfolding alongside party efforts to challenge a court-ordered congressional map that Democrats have said provides them an opportunity to pick up a seat in November. Republicans are contesting that map both at the state and federal levels, a legal and political fight that could affect control of a House seat heading into the general election.
Donald Trump publicly endorsed the repeal initiative on Truth Social, writing: "Utahns deserve Maps drawn by those they elect, not Rogue Judges or Leftwing Activists who never faced the Voters, and, therefore, I encourage all Patriotic Utahns, Republicans, and MAGA Supporters who love their Great State and Country to sign this initiative, ASAP."
If state officials verify enough valid signatures by the March 7 deadline, the measure would appear on the November ballot and set up a high-stakes contest over who draws Utah’s political maps and how they influence representation in Congress and the state legislature.
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