Prop. 4 repeal moves closer to Utah ballot as GOP powers campaign

The Prop. 4 repeal campaign added 9,321 verified signatures Friday, bringing the total to 117,114—83% of the 140,748 required statewide. It needs 23,634 more and will likely clear the bar early next week.

The campaign is also closing in on the second hurdle: signatures from 8% of registered voters in 26 state Senate districts. Five districts have qualified. Two more are within about 250 signatures, with a wave of additional districts expected in the next few days.

Signature removals continue with another 460 on Friday. Senate District by 71 from yesterday’s total, but still sits comfortably +1,740 above the requirement.

Who’s signing

If this lands on November’s ballot, Republicans will have powered it there.

Using voter registration data from L2, Utah Political Watch matched about 85% of petition signers on Friday’s update to the statewide voter file. Nearly 70% are registered Republicans, 18.5% are independents, and just under 7% are Democrats.

Republicans are signing at rates well above their share of the electorate. They make up 51% of Utah voters but 70% of signatures. Roughly 8% of all registered Republicans statewide have signed so far.

In the five Senate districts that have crossed the threshold, Republicans account for ~80% or more of signatures—between 10 and 20 points above their partisan makeup in each district.

SD01 - 79.5% of signatures from Republicans; 61% of voters are GOP.
SD26 - 80.4% of signatures from Republicans; 70% of voters are GOP.
SD27 - 87% of signatures from Republicans; 70% of voters are GOP.
SD28 - 83% of signatures from Republicans; 64% of voters are GOP.
SD29 - 84.5% of signatures from Republicans; 62% of voters are GOP.

In those five districts, Democrats account for less than 5% of signatures.

That GOP-heavy mix tracks. Utahns for Representative Government, the repeal group, is headed by Utah Republican Party officials. Appeals before the submission deadline targeted Republican voters. National conservatives including Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and Ted Nugent urged Utahns to sign. Petition events were hosted by Republican-aligned groups like Turning Point USA.

Where are the signatures coming from?

More than one-quarter of verified signatures come from Salt Lake County. Utah County is second at ~22%, followed by Washington County (10.1%), Davis County (8.6%), and Weber County (6.8%).