A Republican-led initiative to repeal an anti-gerrymandering law in Utah will fail to make November’s ballot, despite garnering support from President Donald Trump, Turning Point Action and a host of other GOP influencers and organizations.
The ballot initiative, which attempted to repeal a 2018 law that created an independent redistricting commission in the state, dipped below the requisite signature threshold after a coordinated signature removal campaign, according to data released Thursday by the state election office.
The initiative’s failure, first reported by the Deseret News, is a major blow to Republicans in the deep-red state, who attempted to overturn a new judge-ordered congressional map that hands Democrats one safe blue seat. Repealing the anti-gerrymandering law would have allowed the Republican-controlled legislature to reinstall a more favorable map ahead of the 2028 elections.
“A well-informed voting population leads to better outcomes for everyone,” said Elizabeth Rasmussen, executive director of Better Boundaries, which opposed the repeal effort. “A majority of Utah voters approved Prop 4 in 2018, and we look forward to the day when Utah voters can finally pick their politicians, not the other way around.”
The effort garnered support from Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Turning Point Action. Signature-gathering efforts were funded by Securing American Greatness Inc., a nonprofit aligned with the president that was previously run by former Trump White House official Taylor Budowich.
The effort turned chaotic, with signature gatherers reporting being assaulted and accusations of fraud.
The failed attempt to overturn the law is the latest victory for Democrats in the state. Following the most recent decennial census in 2021, the Republican-controlled Legislature broke up a Salt Lake City-based, GOP-held battleground district in favor of four solid red seats. After a yearslong legal fight, state courts installed a new map that has one deep blue seat based around the city and three red districts in the rest of the state.
That court-ordered map will be used in November.
Supporters needed to submit signatures for 8 percent of all active registered voters statewide, and 8 percent in at least 26 of the 29 Utah state Senate districts, for the initiative to make November’s ballot. In February, supporters said they submitted over 200,000 signatures, well beyond the required statewide thresholds.
But Utah law allows petition signers to remove their signatures within 45 days of the state’s election office verifying it, offering a window for removals after the submission deadline has passed. Better Boundaries and other groups launched a signature-removal effort that successfully wiped over 7,000 signatures, through canvassing and pre-paid mailers requesting voters remove their signatures.
A last-minute effort from the GOP-controlled Utah Legislature wasn’t enough: On the final night of the legislative session, a bill passed that barred voters from using prepaid postage to request their signatures be removed.
The signature-removal effort proved to be Republicans’ kryptonite. In Senate District 15,328 signatures were removed Wednesday — dropping it below the 8-percent threshold and sinking the initiative, according to new data released Thursday by the lieutenant governor’s office.
Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson vowed that this wouldn’t be the end of the fight.
“We have significant concerns about the practices utilized by the opposition and continue to review the signature validation and removal process,” Axson said in a statement. “Whether now or in the future, by litigation or initiative, we will Repeal Prop 4. This fight is not over but just beginning.”
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