Utah Prop 4 repeal slips, signature deficit widens

Utah Republicans’ bid to repeal Prop 4—the voter-approved anti-gerrymandering law—slipped again Monday, with new signature totals showing the campaign falling further behind the pace needed to make the November ballot.

Just 1,366 new verified signatures were added, bringing the campaign to 40.8% of the 140,748 verified-signature requirement statewide. To hit the mark by March 7, organizers now need 2,873 verified signatures per workday—just above their single-day peak and roughly 28% higher than their most recent three-day average of 2,252. Even matching their best five-day run would leave them about 533 short.

Utah’s ballot rules also require signatures from 8% of voters in at least 26 of 29 state Senate districts. So far, the campaign has cleared that bar in just one. At their best pace, they’d fall 13 districts short of the goal. If they match the pace needed for the statewide goal, they would still be 11 districts short of qualifying.

Prop. 4, passed by voters in 2018, set up an independent redistricting commission to curb partisan map rigging. Lawmakers repealed it in 2020. After a coalition of organizations and individuals sued, a judge ruled that lawmakers overstepped their constitutional authority, reinstating Prop. 4 and throwing out the congressional map approved by the Legislature in 2021.

The campaign to throw out Prop. 4 got a boost on Friday when President Donald Trump endorsed the signature-gathering effort with a post on Truth Social.

“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. You must sign by February 15th! This is a very ‘Big Deal’,” Trump wrote.

The impact from Trump’s post likely won’t show up until later this week.