SALT LAKE CITY — As opponents continue their efforts to repeal Proposition 4, a new survey shows that the majority of Utahns, including those who identify as Republicans, support the anti-gerrymandering law.
The study commissioned by Better Boundaries polled over 1,730 registered Utah voters earlier this month through an online survey overseen by Embold Research. Better Boundaries sponsored the citizen-led initiative, which passed via a bipartisan vote in 2018, creating an independent commission to oversee congressional maps in the state.
Survey results showed 88 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Republicans either strongly support or somewhat support Proposition 4.
“We don’t need to spin or hype these numbers,” said Better Boundaries Executive Director Elizabeth Rasmussen. “It is clear that Utahns want to choose their politicians, and they don’t believe that politicians should have the power to choose their voters.”
The report comes as the Utah Republican Party attempts to gather the required signatures to place the Prop. 4 repeal on the November ballot. The effort followed a ruling by Judge Dianna Gibson that rejected a congressional map proposed by lawmakers that she claimed did not meet the anti-gerrymandering standards.
On Friday, President Donald Trump, who has urged state legislatures to devise ways to modify their congressional districts, posted a message in support of the repeal.
In the Better Boundaries survey, both Democrats (81%) and Republicans (59%) agreed that voters should set election district boundaries, not the Utah State Legislature; although 28 percent of GOP voters polled said state lawmakers should set districts.
Digging deeper into the control over redistricting, 93 percent of Democrats said there should be "neutral, independent standards" in the state, to which 61 percent of Republican voters concurred, with 17 percent of GOP voters answering "not sure."
